Russian Tourism Agencies Consider Georgia Alternative to Turkey

Following the tense relations between Turkey and Russia, Russian tour operators are looking for alternatives to visiting Turkey and they are currently reviewing Georgia.

At a meeting in Omsk city, managers of local tour companies announced they do not consider the “closing” of the Egyptian and Turkish market the biggest problem for Russian Tourism. They highlighted that Russian holiday seekers could head to Batumi, Georgia’s coastal city, instead of Abu Dhabi, or Azerbaijan’s capital Baku.

According to Yuri Lokhmankin, director of the travel company “Compass-M” with 20 years of work experience in the tourism industry, Turkey is an important touristic destination for Russian tourism, but it isn’t the only one.

“I think that there are some problems with Turkey, but it isn’t so bad we cannot solve it. We have more than enough places to go on this planet, attractions, resorts, seas, oceans and more. I think the problem is with the choice we won’t have for the next year,” Lokhmankin stated.

According to director of the “Eurasia-Tour” company Larisa Savostianova, the tourism industry in Russia goes back to 1999.

“Now we are developing Azerbaijan and Georgia as alternatives to Turkey’s touristic destinations. Remembering those tours that have been before, believe me, today Azerbaijan is like the Emirates.”

Lokhmankin supported his colleague and added that “if Batumi is a small Abu Dhabi, then Baku is Dubai.”

According to the director of the tourism agency “Russkurort” Tulegen Bekmagambetov Russia was an important provider for the Turkish tourism market and if Turkey is closed off for years it will lose its position as the number 1 resort country. Bekmagambetov emphasized that Russia should work on replacing Turkey in the tourism market.

Source:mskregion.info