CRIMEA, AUGUST 14, 2018: A view of the ancient Genoese fortress towers in Sudak, Crimea. (Photo by ... [+]
Russia has invested billions in Crimea since seizing it from Ukraine in 2014—but one of the region's main earners, tourism, is now under threat from the coronavirus.
Much of the cash that Russia has poured in has been aimed at improving infrastructure. One of the most high profile projects has been the construction of a road and rail bridge, almost 12 miles long, and costing $3.4 billion, linking Crimea to Russia. In a sign of how important the project was judged to be for Russia's prestige, it was President Vladimir Putin himself who opened the route in November 2019.
"This, without exaggeration, gives us all confidence that we can and definitely will do similar projects in the future," Putin said in remarks quoted by Reuters at the time.
Tourists Expected To Stay Away
Things are not looking so rosy now. The bridge was supposed to be a gateway for Russian visitors making their way to coastal resorts which have been popular destinations since the time of the tsars—but this summer they are not expected in anything like the numbers needed to sustain the tourism industry.
As Russia continues with measures to control the spread of the coronavirus, the authorities have announced that from June 1 some restrictions will be eased.
"The safe and controlled launch of domestic tourism in the first half of the summer is, of course, a priority for us," Russia's deputy prime minister Dmitry Chernyshenko said May 25, according to TASS.
CRIMEA, - AUGUST 14, 2018: Beachgoers on the Black Sea coast in the village of Novy Svet [New Light] ... [+]
'Safe And Controlled' Tourism Won't Bring In The Numbers
"Safe and controlled" may not be enough for Crimea. Official figures in recent years have suggested that tourist numbers approached six million a year, although a 2019 research paper published by the European Council on Foreign Relations cited unofficial figures "closer to two million."
Both numbers now look optimistic. As one hostel owner, Natalia Kirichenko, told Reuters, "If people come at all, they might trickle in at the end of July or in August."
Like many resorts across the former Soviet Union, Crimea lost out in the economic chaos which followed the collapse of the Soviet system in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Then, as Russians' living standards rose in the 2000s, many used their new wealth to vacation abroad in resorts in Turkey, Egypt, and elsewhere.
The pandemic has led to official encouragement for Russians to spend their summer at home—"a better and safer" option, as prime minister Mikhail Mishustin described it May 25. In the view of the Kremlin—though not of the West, which has imposed extensive economic sanctions on Russia for seizing the territory—that includes Crimea.
But with the Russian economy, like that of countries the world over, set to take a hit from the pandemic, it may be that many will not have the money to take a vacation, however much they would like a summer break.
