Sukhum airport received its first flight from Moscow for more than 30 years on February 7. It has not functioned since the end of the Georgian-Abkhazian war. However, in 2023 Sukhum and Moscow signed an agreement, according to which the Russian company will reconstruct the airport. Opening of regular air service in 2025 will stimulate the growth of travel to Abkhazia, vice-president of the Russian Union of Tourist Industry Dmitry Gorin told Izvestia. In general, the republic remains an interesting destination for tourists from the Russian Federation, in 2024 it held leading positions.
How to get to Abkhazia
Sukhum airport, which is located 18 km from the capital, on February 7 received the first test flight from Moscow for the last more than 30 years. The flight was made by the airline "YuVT Aero" from "Vnukovo". Opening of a full-fledged regular air service between Russia and Abkhazia is expected in May. According to Russian Transport Minister Roman Starovoit, it is the Russian YUVT Aero that will fly to Sukhum, but at least two other companies have shown interest in this direction.
In 2023 the tender for reconstruction of the airport was won by the Russian company Infrastructural Development. The government of Abkhazia signed a public-private partnership agreement with it. Today the airport already provides jobs for 300 people, 207 of whom are citizens of Abkhazia. In accordance with the agreement, the state retains ownership of the airfield, airfield infrastructure and the historic building of the airport terminal. Also the airport will retain the status of dual-purpose object and the name - Sukhum International Airport named after V. G. Ardzinba. G. Ardzinba.
"I was pleased that investors who are investing funds, billions of rubles have already been invested there, they have a plan for the second phase of the airport," - said the first deputy head of the presidential administration of the Russian Federation Sergei Kirienko, who was recently on a working trip to Abkhazia.
The airport in that country has not functioned since the end of the Georgian-Abkhazian war in 1993. The terminal used to serve up to 5 thousand passengers in summer and up to 1 thousand in winter. The runway can accommodate almost all types of civilian aircraft.
Obviously, the opening of an international airport in Abkhazia will contribute to the development of tourism in the republic. In particular, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke about this on February 6 at a meeting with Abkhazian politician, presidential candidate Badra Gunba.
Now it is possible to get to Sukhum from Russia only by land or water. The cost of the nearest air ticket from Moscow to Sochi is about 9422 rubles, another 1700 rubles must be paid for the train Sochi-Sukhum. There are other options to get to the capital of Abkhazia: cab or bus. Direct air transportation will save at least money on travel from Sochi to Sukhum.
Abkhazia in general is one of the most popular foreign destinations in the Russian Federation, it is in the top rating of preferences of Russian tourists, said "Izvestia" vice-president of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Dmitry Gorin .
- After the events of November 2024, recommendations of the Ministry of Economic Development and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform tourists about the situation in Abkhazia are in effect (in mid-November last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, taking into account the unrest, recommended to refrain from traveling to Abkhazia, and those who are already in the country, if possible, to leave it. - Ed.). Tour companies are waiting first of all for the abolition of these recommendations, - he said. - As soon as flights will appear on a regular basis, we can talk about additional opportunities for tourists. It is important to understand from what cities, what capacity will be available and who will fly. So far there is no such information.
In 2024, about 1.5 million Russian tourists visited the republic, in 2023 - 1.4 million.
According to the Association of Tour Operators, the first place among the most popular tourist countries for Russians in 2024 was taken by Turkey. It accounts for almost 40% of the outbound tourism market in Russia. In second place is the UAE with 11.4%, in third place - China with 10.9%, in fourth place - Thailand (10%). Abkhazia (8.6%) just closes the top 5.
What is happening in Abkhazia now
Now the level of hotel bookings for summer vacation in the republic by Russian tourists is lower than in 2024, reported the head of the department of analysis, forecasting and development of resort and tourist industry of the Ministry of Tourism of Abkhazia Inara Benia on January 31. This is explained by a decline in purchasing power of Russian residents after the New Year holidays on the one hand, and on the other hand - the upcoming early elections of the president of Abkhazia in February.
Sergei Kirienko also spoke about the importance of a calm situation in the country for the growth of tourist flow. "After the November events many tourists who wanted to go to the republic became more cautious. If now everything will be within the law, without attempts to solve the issues by force, then the tourists who dream of spending their summer vacation here, everything will fall into place," he said.
Early presidential elections will be held in the republic on February 15. The CEC has registered five candidates for the election. Badra Gunba, former Economy Minister Adgur Ardzinba, chairman of the opposition public organization "Abkhazian People's Movement" Robert Arshba, former trade representative of Abkhazia in Russia Oleg Bartsits and Adgur Hurkhumal - chairman of the board of the "Black Sea Development Bank" will compete for the post of president. Ex-president Aslan Bzhania resigned on November 19th amid protests that began in the republic.
It should be noted that the unrest was not anti-Russian. Later Sukhum even asked Moscow to help with humanitarian supplies of electricity to overcome the energy crisis.
Now the situation in Sukhum is calm, an eyewitness told Izvestia.
- There are not so many tourists, primarily because of the weather conditions. It is not the season yet - in the capital it is +8-9°C, - he said.
The upcoming elections in Abkhazia should not affect the quality of relations between Moscow and Sukhum, says Vadim Mukhanov, head of the Caucasus sector of IMEMO RAS. In case of calm political situation the flow of travelers will remain high. By the way, reconstruction of the Adler checkpoint on the border between Russia and Abkhazia will also help the development of tourism. More than 10 billion rubles have been allocated for this purpose.
Russia intends to further develop relations with Abkhazia, which will contribute to mutual growth of economies and trade turnover. Last year, the republic's GDP grew by 8%. "We are confident that the potential that is embedded in our ties, especially in the energy and tourism sectors, will definitely lead to further growth of the economy, and to the solution of social problems, improving the welfare of citizens," - said Sergei Lavrov on February 6 at a meeting with Badra Gunba.
In February, it became known that Russia allocated 343 million rubles to Abkhazia to pay salaries to doctors, teachers and law enforcement officers. In addition, Russia expressed readiness to resume the supply of electricity to Abkhazia.
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