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Crimea Sees Tourist Numbers Plummet Amid Ukraine War

Yalta, Crimea. Roma Neus (CC BY 3.0)

Hotels in Crimea have seen guest numbers fall by more than a third compared to last year amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. 

Just half of all hotel rooms in the popular resort were filled in June, despite tour operators slashing prices, Russian news outlet RBC reported Wednesday. 

The closure of the peninsula’s airport in Simferopol has reportedly been a major deciding factor for holidaymakers hoping to travel to the Ukrainian region, which was annexed by Russia in 2014.

Russia has closed several airports in Crimea and southern Russia since the start of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

Crimea has traditionally been a popular holiday destination for Russian tourists, with almost 10% of Russians who have vacationed domestically in the past five years heading to the Black Sea resort, according to state-run pollster VTsIOM.



Read more about: Crimea , Tourism

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