Russians started canceling trips to Abkhazia amid unrest – ATOR

The volume of cancellations of trips to the republic “significantly exceeds standard indicators” from November 15 to 17 tripled compared to the same days of the previous week, one of the large tour operator companies informed ATOR.

At the moment, 100,000-120,000 people have planned their holidays in this country for the summer of 2025. Abkhazia, together with the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory and Crimea, is among the top three tour operators and reaches 20 to 40% of total advance booking travel sales, the association said.

They noted that up to 95% of tour cancellations to the republic occur during next summer. There are cancellations for the near future, but their magnitude is not so noticeable. The number of cancellations of reservations during the weekend exceeds standard indicators by 10%; Stay requests for the next two weeks are canceled, highlighted the Alean tour operator.

There has also been no significant increase in refusals to travel to Abkhazia for the New Year, the association reported. For the period from December 26, 2024 to January 10, 2025, according to preliminary estimates, up to 80% of all trips to this country have been sold. The expected tourist flow to the republic on these dates is 60 to 70 thousand people.

On November 15, the Russian Foreign Ministry asked Russians to refrain from any travel to Abkhazia, including tourism.

Protests in the country began on November 11 in connection with the local parliament’s plans to ratify the bill regulating the intergovernmental agreement with Russia on investments, RIA Novosti writes. The opposition insists that the document will allow Russian companies to build apartments in the republic, which will lead to an increase in housing prices and create risks for the economy, the agency said.