Unrest in Georgia does not yet frighten Russians
The Russian Foreign Ministry advises Russians to refrain from traveling to Georgia: amid protests and clashes in the country, diplomats say it could be unsafe. However, Rostourism and tour operators are hesitant to issue such recommendations, reports a PolitNavigator correspondent.
The Federal Tourism Agency says that Georgia has become the most popular foreign country for Russians - the share of passengers who prefer purchasing air tickets to Georgia has increased by 27%. Flights Moscow - Tbilisi and Moscow - Batumi took third and fifth places, respectively, in the top 10 most popular summer destinations this year. At the same time, ticket prices for these destinations have changed slightly over the year - plus or minus 2%.
The unrest, mass protests and clashes with the police that began the day before in Tbilisi came as a complete surprise to Russian travelers, but so far no one is in a hurry to abandon their plans, the department says.
Press secretary of the Russian Union of Tour Operators (RST) Irina Tyurina says that all organized Russian travelers have been warned to refrain from visiting only Rustaveli Avenue for now - this street is included in all excursion routes in Tbilisi. This is where the protests are currently taking place. Outside of it, the situation in Tbilisi is calm.
As of Friday evening, there was no information about cases of tour returns, Tyurina said, adding that “too little time has passed.”
Tyurina recalled that according to the law on the fundamentals of tourism, if the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Federal Agency for Tourism issue recommendations about the undesirability of trips to Georgia, then travel agencies must return money to tourists for failed trips. However, without recommendations from regulators, Russians will only be able to refuse trips by sharing the risks with tour operators - they will receive a refund minus the expenses incurred.
Unrest in Georgia doesn't seem to be scaring Russians yet.