Tourism from western Europe to Georgia falls by 90% due to Russians’ influx – founder of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs federation

Group tourism from western Europe has fallen by 90 percent after Moscow’s move in May to lift travel and visa restrictions with Georgia and tourists from the Baltic states had encountered pressure from Russians, particularly in Georgia’s coastal Adjara region,  Shalva Alaverdashvili, the founder of the Federation of Hoteliers and Restaurateurs told BMG, a domestic media, last week. 

He claimed a number of tourists from Western Europe had canceled their reservations in Batumi, a main city in Georgia’s coastal region, due to Russians, on the backdrop of Moscow’s ongoing aggression against Ukraine. 

“For them, Batumi is perceived as a city of concentration of too many Russians and they refuse to come”, he said. 

After accepting direct flights from Russia Moscow canceled in 2019, and lifting of visa regime Russia had maintained since 2000, Tbilisi claimed the refusal to accept the lift would pose problems to the country’s economy and could also trigger additional security challenges.