Tourist flow from Russia to the Baltic States may decrease by 60-80%.
This was told by the general director of the travel company “Dolphin” Sergei Romashkin in a comment to the agency “Sputnik”.
According to him, in conditions of coronavirus pandemic, which forced the EU countries to close their borders, the tourist flow from the Baltic States may go to the Kaliningrad region. At the same time he notes that the number of tourists will also depend on the welfare of citizens.
“The restrictions of the Baltic states may indeed redirect the flow to Kaliningrad. At the same time, we are witnessing an economic crisis, a decline in income”, – says Romashkin. – “One would like to go, while the other would prefer not to go. One way or another, not everything is so cloudless – this year there are many problems, including for Kaliningrad”.
Referring to the forecasts of the World Tourism Organization, he noted that the tourist flow in 2020 will be reduced by 70-80% depending on the region. The expert noted that such trends will also affect the Baltics, which will cost them hundreds of millions of euros.
“The flow from Russia to the Baltic States, I think, will be reduced by the same 60-70-80 percent. As a consequence, the economy of the republics will lose tens, hundreds of millions of euros due to the reduction of tourist flow from Russia”, – stated Romashkin.
Earlier Minister of Culture and Tourism of the Kaliningrad region Andrey Yermak said that the region is preparing to receive tourists who used to go to Europe but will not be able to do so now due to restrictions.