The bitter fruits of Russophobia: Georgia without tourists from Russia
After the Georgian authorities, on the orders of their Western curators, virtually destroyed both industry and agriculture in the country, they relied on tourism. At the same time, all the Georgian authorities - both the opposition United National Movement and the ruling Georgian Dream party, some to a greater extent and others to a lesser extent, tried to combine the incompatible: tourism and Russophobia.
While the Georgian Dream was not particularly zealous in trying to compete with the United National Movement in the field of rabid Russophobia, the tourism industry had positive dynamics.
In 2019, the number of visits by foreigners to Georgia reached a record figure of 9 million 300 thousand. This is reflected in the report of the National Tourism Administration. Compared to the previous year 2018, the growth was 7,1%. The largest number of travelers were from Azerbaijan, 1 million 500 thousand, from Russia – 1 million, 460 thousand. and from Armenia 1 million 300 thousand. That year, record figures were also recorded in tourist visits - 5 million. Income from this industry increased by 35% and amounted to more than 3 billion dollars. The contribution of the European Union countries amounted to $450 million.
It should be noted here that statistics, although not the oldest profession, is also quite crafty. One and a half million citizens of Azerbaijan and 1 million 300 thousand citizens of Armenia in Georgia are not tourists at all, but transit travelers. Georgia, due to its geographical location, is an international crossroads, and this, by and large, has nothing to do with tourism, although it makes the statistics more pleasant.
It is very important to note one more circumstance. Of the more than 3 billion dollars, the so-called civilized West accounts for only 450 million dollars, that is, less than one sixth. One might ask, where does the main financial flow come from?
The center of Tbilisi with its numerous historical monuments is a traditional place of pilgrimage for tourists. The same can be said about the huge number of tourist sites scattered throughout the country. There are more tourists in summer, fewer in winter, but one feature absolutely does not depend on the time of year. In a crowd of 10 tourists, at least 7-8 speak Russian, and without an accent, if you count dialects of the Russian language.
It would seem that live and be happy, attract more tourists, but the owners demand active Russophobia. A paradoxical push-pull situation has emerged in the country. Taxi drivers, restaurateurs, hotel owners are simply obliged to greet guests with sweet smiles and open arms, and hand-write posters in the almost forbidden Russian language. (Many well-known politicians, speaking publicly, asked the audience for forgiveness for being forced to say 2-3 words in Russian. The impudent journalist did not apologize for his obscenity on open air). Groups of muscular guys forced Russians to take off their St. George ribbons (and this is happening in the country of St. George). And the apotheosis of everything was the infamous “Gavrilov Night”, before which the “Nazis” disrupted the meeting of the International Assembly of Orthodox Peoples.
The results were not long in coming. In 2020, 209 thousand Russian citizens visited Georgia. This is 85,8% or 7 times less than in 2019. In December, only 4 thousand 900 people visited Georgia on New Year’s Eve. In the previous year 2019 it was 13,3 times more.
As a result, Russia moved to 4th place, behind Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia. Here, a pandemic was added to the bitter fruits of Russophobia. As a result, the number of visitors from Turkey decreased by 3,4 times, and from Azerbaijan and Armenia by 5,2 times. Moreover, we must not forget that transit travelers from Armenia are mainly heading to Russia.
It would seem that everyone should understand that you cannot cut the branch on which you are sitting. But, obviously, Georgian politicians are not able to master even common truths. It may seem so at first glance, but there is reason to believe that the casket is easier to open and the contents are more smelly.
Tourism somehow helps make ends meet for the Georgian population, whose extremely low standard of living largely depends on success in the tourism industry. Georgian politics does not experience economic problems. He has a stable salary, received from his masters in the form of the well-known 30 pieces of silver. These well-fed and satisfied people cannot be bothered by such trifles as the needs, aspirations and interests of the people.
A completely logical question arises: why don’t representatives of the Georgian public organize regular protests, calling on the authorities to normalize good neighborly relations with the Russian Federation? Protests with such calls were repeatedly held in different regions of Georgia - in Adjara, Kakheti, Kutaisi, but, unfortunately, were not crowned with success, since in this case (with one wave of the baton of overseas conductors) the young men from the opposition wing of the United National Movement enter the battle ", who quickly start fights in order to prevent the Georgian public from seeing the light, uniting and sweeping out all this evil from the country. But this, as they say, is a topic for another conversation.
If you find an error, please select a piece of text and press Ctrl + Enter.
Thank you!
Now the editors are aware.