Georgia Unrest Unlikely To Cause Russian Tourist Influx To Montenegro -Tourism Association

Montenegro does not expect to receive more tourists from Russia than initially projected in light of Moscow's ban on flights to Georgia amid political unrest there, Montenegro Tourism Association head Zarko Radulovic told Sputnik on Tuesday

BELGRADE (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 25th June, 2019) Montenegro does not expect to receive more tourists from Russia than initially projected in light of Moscow's ban on flights to Georgia amid political unrest there, Montenegro Tourism Association head Zarko Radulovic told Sputnik on Tuesday.

After violent anti-Russia protests swept the Georgian capital of Tbilisi last week, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree requiring Russian airlines to temporarily halt passenger flights from Russia to Georgia starting on July 8. The decree also advised Russian travel agencies to suspend sales of tours to Georgia until the ban is lifted.

"Of the total number of foreign tourists throughout May-June, Russians comprise 12 percent among agency-supervised travelers and between 30-35 percent among individual travelers. We work hard to increase the tourist influx from this traditionally keen market [Russia]," Radulovich said, adding that while geopolitical developments in general might affect tourism, the events in Georgia are unlikely to impact Montenegro's tourism sector.

His forecast is that the tourism rates of 2019 in Montenegro will not have any significant deviations from the previous year.

According to the Montenegrin state statistics agency, Monstat, Russia was the second most popular country of origin of tourists who visited Montenegro � 16.3 percent, or approximately 335,000 people � in 2018.

Protests in the Georgian capital of Tbilisi erupted last Thursday over a Russian delegation's participation in a session of the Interparliamentary Assembly on Orthodoxy. Demonstrators tried to storm the parliament building where the Russian representatives were located, demanding the resignation of the parliament speaker and other officials. The rally was dispersed by special forces with tear gas, rubber bullets and water cannons.

On June 21, Georgian President Salome Zourabichvili called Russia an "enemy and occupying state" interested in provoking internal division in Georgia. On Monday, Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze said that his country was safe for all tourists, including Russians.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, in turn, described Zourabichvili's remarks as unprofessional and suggested that the head of state was either unaware of what was going on or intentionally distorting the situation.