Anti-Russian pogrom will cost Georgia $500 million
The Georgian authorities are forced to develop emergency measures to support the tourism industry due to the massive outflow of vacationers from the Russian Federation after the cancellation of flights due to anti-Russian riots in Tbilisi.
The Kommersant newspaper writes about this, noting that by the end of 2019, Georgia as a whole may lose approximately $500 million in tourism revenue, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The situation threatens to undermine the situation in the once rebellious autonomy of Adjara, the newspaper emphasizes. “Tbilisi has so far managed to maintain stability primarily due to significant investments and the rapid growth of the tourism sector,” the publication recalls.
As part of emergency measures, the authorities had to develop a program of “co-financing of bank loans.” In addition, the Ministry of Finance will issue state guarantees to banks that agree to finance the completion of the construction of family hotels and hostels, which began in the spring in anticipation of the influx of tourists from the Russian Federation. In turn, the owners of family hotels will receive government grants in September to keep their business afloat.
The authorities also managed to reach an agreement with the Irish low-cost airline Ryanair to launch cheap regular flights with European Union countries. In order to replace Russian tourists with European ones, CNN and Bloomberg launched advertisements for Georgian resorts in the largest Western media platforms.
As PolitNavigator reported , anti-Russian protests in Georgia began after the General Session of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy (IAO) was held in the Georgian parliament building on June 19, and the head of the Russian delegation, Sergei Gavrilov, took the seat of Georgian Parliament Speaker Kobakhidze. Georgian radicals claimed that Gavrilov was an active participant in the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict, having repeatedly and publicly declared Abkhazia's independence, and brought protesters out onto the streets. In response to the pogrom, the Russian government announced a ban on direct flights to Georgia and urged tourists to avoid traveling to the country.
English version :: Read in English: The anti-Russian pogrom will cost Georgia $500 million.