Why U.S. Travel Media Won't Tell People to Visit Russia

Russia’s been in the news a lot lately —just not the travel news. Normally, year-end “best of” annual travel lists – like Lonely Planet’s enduring Best in Travel series or the New York Times’ 52 Places to Go – give extra weight to destinations celebrating big anniversaries or hosting major world events. Both put Canada’s 150th birthday at No.1 in 2017, for instance, and each had Winter Olympics-host South Korea’s Winter Olympics in their list this year. But in 2018, Russia is not getting love from publishers, which comes as a surprise since so much has been happening there. In 2014, Sochi hosted the Winter Olympics, and 2016 marked the centennial of the iconic Trans-Siberian Railway. In addition, this year 11 Russian cities are set to host the World Cup. Yet none of eight major U.S.-based travel publishers Skift surveyed (see chart) picked Russia as a go-to place in 2018. And in 2014, during the Olympics, only two of eight —National Geographic Traveler and Travel & Leisure — picked Sochi as a must-visit destination. Of course, a big event doesn’t necessarily ensure inclusion as a “best place to go.” But the Olympics and World Cup are really big — more than 21 million Americans tuned into the Sochi Olympics nightly, and about 3.2 billion worldwide watched the last World Cup. The World Cup is a lot bigger deal than what's happening in Malta, the recently-named the 2018 European Capital of Culture. Malta, however, was endorsed as a “place to go” by six of eight publishers. Given the importance of the World Cup, it makes one wonder: Do U.S. travel publishers have a bias against Russia? Note: Skift surveyed The New York Times, Lonely Planet, Conde Nast Traveler, Travel & Leisure, National Geographic Traveler, CNN, Afar and Frommer's What Publishers Say Dan Saltzstein, an editor of The New York Times’ travel section, said by email the newspaper's “52 Places to Go” list comes from “hundreds of pitches” from writers. “Not every event gets a destination on the lis