Russians flee Sevastopol en masse after missile attacks: no more than 10% of tourists stay in hotels

For several days in a row, the sounds of explosions have been heard in the Ukrainian Crimea annexed by Russia as the Ukrainian Armed Forces try to drive the occupiers out of the peninsula. In particular, the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet in occupied Sevastopol was hit. In addition to eliminating the invaders, they also managed to scare away Russian tourists.

According to Russian specialized publications, "the alarming situation in Sevastopol does not contribute to the already scarce tourist flow to the city." Thus, according to representatives of the Crimean tourist industry, no more than 10% of tourists stayed in local hotels.

Since September 22, hotel occupancy in Sevastopol has dropped by half. In occupied Yalta, Alushta, Sudak and Feodosia, the situation is slightly better, but has also deteriorated significantly. But Russians don't want to go to Yevpatoria, Saki and Mykolaivka on the West Bank because they are afraid of "cotton".

The 10% of residents in Sevastopol hotels are mostly locals. According to the source, Crimeans now make up the bulk of hotel guests. However, they obviously do not stay there for long, so representatives of the Crimean tourist industry are puzzling over how to attract visitors and not lose money. Crimeans are offered various lucrative packages to keep them in hotels.

And while 90% of hotel rooms are empty, the local "authorities," following the standard Kremlin propaganda guidelines, assure them: "there is no panic" and "everything is under control."

"There are organized tourists in the city, but not many of them. They are mostly located near the sea, not in the center of Sevastopol. Tour operators have not been contacted by tourists staying at the resort. Hotels are operating as usual, and Sevastopol's tourist infrastructure is working normally. Tour operators recommend tourists not to go to the city center for a while and to take precautionary measures," the Association of Tour Operators of Russia said.

As a reminder, in the evening of September 25, the temporarily occupied Crimea was restless. After the nighttime explosions, air raid alarms sounded on the streets of occupied Sevastopol and other cities. People came out of their homes in search of shelters, but they were closed.

Explosions were heard in the city in the morning of September 23. According to Krym.Realii, some residents' windowpanes shook due to the blast wave.

Prior to that, on the evening of September 21, powerful explosions also occurred in the annexed Crimea, causing a fire in Sevastopol. The explosions happened again the next day. It turned out that the headquarters of the Russian Black Sea Fleet had been hit by a missile.

As OBOZREVATEL reported, earlier in the occupied Sudak, a shop assistant called tourists from the Russian Federation "occupiers", which they are. Of course, the Russians did not like such "harassment" and ended up with the police. Read more in our article.

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