Russian tourists abandoned Georgia in favor of the Balkans
The scandal provoked by the Georgian opposition in 2019 around the visit to Tbilisi of the President of the Interparliamentary Assembly of Orthodoxy, State Duma deputy Sergei Gavrilov (he sat in the speaker’s chair in parliament), led to the reorientation of Russian tourists to Crimea and the Balkans.
Gavrilov spoke about this in an interview with the Balkanist YouTube channel, a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
“A huge number of tour operators and hotel owners began to call me from Crimea, from Montenegro and Serbia, Greece and Cyprus and thanked me for the fact that millions of Russians went there and, I hope, chose these routes forever. For everyone, from extreme sports enthusiasts to budget tourists, the Balkans find their way to the soul, their friendliness,” said Gavrilov.
He believes that the Balkans are better suited for Russian tourists because they love him there.
“For Russians, cultural proximity, warmth, good cuisine and what we call security are very important. The fact that the Russians finally chose Montenegro, Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria is a historical choice. We are returning not in a diplomatic capacity, but as millions of not only tourists, but also pilgrims. When the Russians come, they don't just laze on the beach. They try to understand the history of the country. For them, the history and culture of the Balkans is part of Russia,” says the politician.
According to him, the surge of interest in the Balkans opened the Republika Srpska to Russians.
“Serbs from the Republika Srpska and Kosovo are the dearest people to us,” Gavrilov concluded.
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