Perceptions of Host Community on the Impacts of Mega-Sport Tourism in Russia

Nowadays tourism is one of the continuously growing industries in many countries. In many countries, the tourism industry is on a par with agriculture, health, mining and education, notably the role of tourism in creating large numbers of new jobs. Undoubtedly tourism is able to develop not only the economy of the countries, but also affects social and cultural life of the people and of course on the environment. The Russian Federation, despite its high potential, is still very modest place in the global tourism market, but tourism, especially sporting events is raising the bar. The last Olympic games in Sochi in 2014, and future Confederations Cup 2017 and world Cup 2018 increases attention to tourism and make a great contribution to the development of the industry. In this study, it is been proposed to consider how Russian citizens perceive the hosting of sports mega-events, on example of the FIFA Confederations Cup 2017 and FIFA World Cup Russia™ 2018 and what impacts it brings along. Keywords: Mega-event tourism, Sport tourism, FIFA Confederations Cup Russia 2017, 2018 FIFA World Cup Russia™, Economic impact, Socio-Cultural impact, Environment impact.