June 11, 2023
Russian tourists are expected to skip Crimea for the second year in a row as Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine takes its toll on the Black Sea peninsula’s economy.
Russia annexed Crimea in 2014 and then pumped billions of dollars into the peninsula to upgrade its infrastructure. At the same time, Russian citizens and businesses invested in Crimean real estate, building vacation homes and hotels for tourists.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has turned Crimea into a target for Ukrainian forces, upending the peninsula’s decades-old reputation as an attractive summer beach destination. Russia was forced to close the airspace over Crimea to commercial planes following the invasion.
Ukraine’s bombing of a Russian air base on Crimea in August 2022 sent a cloud of black smoke into the sky and tourists fleeing back to Russia. Ukraine also struck the road and rail bridge connecting Russia and Crimea and sunk a Russian warship off the Crimean coast.
Ukraine has vowed to retake Crimea from Russia.
According to the hotel booking website Ostrovok.ru., Crimea accounts for just 1 percent of 2023 summer bookings by Russian tourists, down from 19 percent in 2021, the summer prior to Russia’s invasion. Crimea accounted for 3 percent of bookings last year.
Sangadzhi Tarbayev, chairman of the Russian parliament’s Committee on Tourism and Tourism Infrastructure Development, said that Crimean hotels have lost at least 40 percent of their clients.
The short summer season accounts for the lion’s share of income for many Crimean businesses and residents. The drop in tourists has already forced hotels and restaurants to slash prices.
Russia’s budget, already under pressure from surging war costs and a fall in energy prices, will pick up the tab to avoid mass layoffs on the peninsula.
Moscow has set aside 2.5 billion rubles ($30 million) to compensate Crimean companies who do not lay off people, Sergei Aksyonov, the Russian-installed head of Crimea, said.
He put the number of tourism workers in Crimea at 30,000. Hotels that do not open will also be compensated by Moscow, he said.
Many military experts do not expect Russia’s war in Ukraine to end this year, potentially setting Crimea up for another dismal tourism season in 2024.
We had articles like this before, but this season is the worst ever under mafia rule. This will also be the last under their leadership.
“Many military experts do not expect Russia’s war in Ukraine to end this year, potentially setting Crimea up for another dismal tourism season in 2024.”
No doubt, the same ones who predicted Kyiv to fall within two or three days.
Many thought Kyiv would fall quickly. Until, that is, they saw the 40 klick convoy stop for lack of fuel, then the troops got out and walked back to Belarus because of lack of fuel. No on expected anything like it. People then realized that Russia had forgotten how to fight a real war and that Russian logistics were not improved over WW2.
A lot of competent western officers were stunned and admitted they were wrong. The incompetents are still saying Russia will “win real soon now.” People like Larry Johnson, Scott Ritter and Col Douglas MacGregor.
I guess some people are just too reluctant to learn anything new.
I guess the slogan come drink a warm glass of sludge filled water while watching the sky fill with bavovna and sunbathe on a row of dragon’s teeth didn’t go over so well as a tourist incentive.
Bhaaaaaaahaaaaaaaahaaaaaaaaaaa!
No, not at all!