1 / 3Photo: Valery Voennyy/AP/TT
Mile-long beaches, luxurious hotels and exciting excursion destinations. Good food, good wine and breathtaking nature. Russia continues to market Crimea as an attractive destination for Russian travelers.
Tourism is an important part of Moscow’s propaganda to create an image of normalcy – but in reality the industry is in crisis.
This week, the Russian-built Kerch Bridge between Russia and Crimea, which was illegally annexed by Russia in 2014, was attacked and the bridge had to be temporarily closed. About 50,000 Russian tourists were reported to be on their way from Crimea.
Russian authorities tried to get homebound tourists to drive home by land, which runs through parts of eastern Ukraine where the Russian military has taken control.
– It is a famous road. A very good one, along the Azov lake, fantastic landscape, said the speaker of the Russian-installed parliament in Crimea, Vladimir Konstantinov, AFP news agency reported.
– We see nothing worrying.
Popular in Soviet times
There is really nothing to worry about as a tourist in Crimea, according to Russia. And Crimea is a long-established travel destination. Ever since Tsarist times, beautifully situated seaside resorts have attracted tourists from the Russian cities.
– Many have had connections to Crimea for generations. During the Soviet era, there were many people who went there and vacationed. People know Crimea and want to go there, says Kalle Kniivilä, a journalist at Sydsvenskan who has written several books about Russia and Ukraine.
Just two years ago, tourism records were broken, when Crimea received 19 percent of Russians’ hotel bookings. Last year, when Russia began its war of aggression against Ukraine, Crimea accounted for only 3 percent of Russian hotel bookings and this year 1 percent, according to the booking service ostrovok.ru, writes The Washington Post. Now trips to the peninsula are being sold at bargain prices.
Symbolically important tourism
Tourism in Crimea has been an important source of income for the inhabitants of the peninsula, but now the industry is fighting for its survival.
– Now not as many people want to go there, notes Kalle Kniivilä.
Rich Russians may prefer to travel to other countries, he says. Those who travel to Crimea more often are the lower middle class. Because Crimea is cheap – and Russian state employees can now get favorable offers from the state.
For the Russian leadership, it is important to maintain an appearance of normalcy, both for Russians and for the residents of Crimea. Part of that is tourism in Crimea, points out Kalle Kniivilä.
– Partly, they want to show that they have control over Crimea, which is symbolically important. I think it is symbolically important in the same way that the Kerch Bridge is important, he says.
“Don’t be afraid”
Although the Kerch Bridge has been attacked twice since the full-scale Russian invasion and several other attacks have taken place on military areas in Crimea, a tour guide claimed earlier in July that Russian tourists continue to come to the peninsula and always will.
– We are not afraid of anything here, he told The Washington Post.
– This is the safest place in the country in terms of defense and weapons.
And of course, Crimea looks enchanting in the advertising aimed at thoughtful travelers.
– Yes, it’s quite nice, but there are reasons not to go there, says Kalle Kniivilä.
– I definitely wouldn’t have gone there now if I had been Russian, and not otherwise either.
FACT Crimean Peninsula
Crimea is an approximately 25,500 square kilometer peninsula in southern Ukraine, somewhat smaller in area than Norrbotten.
To the west and south of Crimea is the Black Sea, to the northeast is the Sea of Azov. On the northern side, the peninsula is connected to the Ukrainian mainland with the eight-kilometer-wide Perekopnäset.
The only direct route to Russia is the Kerch Bridge, which was built by Russia after it illegally annexed Crimea in 2014.
The dominant industries in Crimea are agriculture, industry and tourism. Tourism has mainly spread along the south coast, where several spa and bathing resorts are located.
Source: NE.se, TT.
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