From the MT:
"Crimea Sees Sharp Drop in Russian Tourists"
Russians are losing interest in traveling to Crimea, as the demand for flights to Simferopol among tourists has declined by more than 25 percent this year, the Kommersant newspaper reported Monday, citing data from Svyaznoy-Travel ticket agency. The Biletix ticket booking agent saw demand for tickets to Crimea fall by 7.5 percent this summer. Package tours to Crimea, however, haven't suffered such a dramatic decline. There is currently a sales slowdown, but the demand for package tours is still 40-50 percent higher than last year, Romashkin told Kommersant. However, members of the tourism industry say this growth will have stopped by next year. The Crimean authorities have denied the falling popularity of the peninsula among Russian tourists. Crimean Deputy Prime Minister Ruslan Balbek, who oversees the tourism sector, said that Svyaznoy- Travel's data don't reflect the the real situation in the market.
^ There are probably a few more reasons why Russians aren't going to the Crimea than a lack of infrastructure. One is the "patriotic" fervor that enveloped Russia after Russia invaded, occupied and annexed the Crimea from the Ukraine is no longer as strong as it was. What many once saw as a victory (not sure over whom though) now is a reality of a much lower standard of living for the majority of Russians due to the international sanctions placed over their actions in the Crimea and the falling oil prices. Maybe the average Russian is starting to wake-up from their Kool-Aid induced hangover and see the truth and how it differs from what they believed and were told (although having lived through the same thing during Soviet times they should have known better by now.) In a way it's nice to see that the average Russian is turning it's back on annexed Crimea. It can be seen as a silent protest against actions made by others without their consent. ^
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