The Russian authorities announced their intention to develop tourism in the occupied Sea of Azov region. At the end of March, Russian President Vladimir Putin held a meeting with occupation officials of the region, after which it became known about plans to build a year-round sea resort on the Obytichnaya spit near the city of Primorsk in the Zaporizhia Oblast.

What is the actual state of resort facilities in the region? How has tourism in Crimea changed over the 10 years of occupation, and is Russia interested in the development of this field in all occupied territories? The Radio Liberty project “News of Azov” found out about all this (text in Ukrainian).

Oleksandr Fainin, the former head of the project for the development of tourism in the Sea of Azov region, said that before the full-scale invasion, 5 million tourists rested in this region during the season.

“We always counted, first of all, on tourists from Ukraine, that is, on domestic tourists. And we always declared such a position that the infrastructure should meet international standards, but, first of all, it should be used by Ukrainians. What has changed? First of all, those means of accommodation – hotels, boarding houses, sanatoriums, which are located in the occupied territory, occupied by military administrations, barracks, and other military facilities. But all the same, this government, I am sure that it is temporary, it has already decided that it will be there for a long time. Therefore, now they are planning to develop tourism,” says Fainin.

The Sea of Azov region has all the necessary infrastructure for the development of the resort industry, however, the number of tourists there is unlikely to increase, the expert added. He also commented on the intentions of the Russian authorities to develop a resort on the Obitichnaya spit:

“This is probably some oligarch’s project. In fact, this is burying money or laundering it. We have known since last year that they are inviting their citizens to the Sea of Azov region. I even saw some comments under these advertisements, that is, the Russians themselves write that in reality the road is shot through, it is dangerous, that is, ordinary citizens realize that it is dangerous. I understand that there will not be many people willing to go to these resorts.”

The article also contains comments from other experts, including: Ivan Fedorov, head of the Zaporizhia Oblast Military Administration, Denis Katyukha, Head of the public organization “Azov Hospitality”, owner of one of the hotels in Kyrylivka, Oleksandr Yakovliev, Mayor of Skadovsk, Sergiy Vikarchuk, Former chief specialist of the Department of Resorts and Tourism of Yevpatoriya City Council.

Below you can see a video of Oleksandr Fainin’s comment on this topic (in Ukrainian).