80% of Russians Cancel Crimea Vacations Due To Ukraine Attacks

T

If repeated stories about Ukrainian drone and missile attacks weren't enough to discourage Russian vacationers considering Crimea, the pictures of tourists fleeing falling air defense debris, which reportedly killed some hapless vacationers, appear to have convinced the holdouts. JL

New Voice of Ukraine:

80% of Russian tourists canceled their trips to occupied Sevastopol in Crimea due to unreliable Russian air defenses and the vulnerability of the Crimean Bridge to Ukrainian attacks. One-third of all booked trips to Crimea were canceled in June 2024. Another risk factor: the vulnerable and illegally constructed Crimean Bridge, which remains a crucial route for tourism from Russia and is utilized by Moscow for military logistics.  "Russians who have reconsidered vacationing on the occupied Crimean coast are alarmed by the security situation, especially unreliable operation of the air defense system which has led to a mass withdrawal of Russian tourists from Crimea.”

Eighty percent of Russian tourists canceled their trips to the occupied city of Sevastopol in Crimea due to unreliable Russian air defenses and the vulnerability of the Crimean Bridge to Ukrainian attacks, Ukrainian intelligence (HUR) reported on July 19.

Over one-third of all booked trips to Crimea were canceled in June 2024.

This rate is significantly higher in Sevastopol, where nearly 80% of organized tours scheduled for June were abandoned by Russian tourists.

Read also:

 Ukrainian forces strike Russian Coast Guard base in Crimea

“Primarily, Russians who have reconsidered vacationing on the occupied Crimean coast are alarmed by the complex security situation caused by the occupation,” HUR said.

 

“In particular, the unreliable and deadly operation of the invaders’ air defense system has led to a mass withdrawal of Russian tourists from Crimea.”

Ukrainian intelligence also highlighted another risk factor: the vulnerable and illegally constructed Crimean Bridge, which remains a crucial route for tourism from Russia and is utilized by Moscow for military logistics.

Following a June 23 attack on a Russian military site in occupied Sevastopol, during which missile debris fell on Uchkuevka beach, tourism sales for the occupied peninsula plummeted.

Read also:

 Drone attack strikes temporarily occupied Crimea, Russian authorities claim

Official data shows that demand for trips to Crimea decreased by 20%.

The Crimean Bridge, illegally built by Russian occupying forces, must be destroyed, Ukrainian intelligence head Kyrylo Budanov said in an interview with NV on July 13.

Ukrainian forces could potentially use Magura drones to strike the illegally constructed Crimean Bridge, HUR representative Yevhen Yerin said on July 16.