The scandal that resulted in the verification of official compliance of an official who called Russian tourists “poor locusts” on social networks exploded in the Russian Federation. Oleksiy Kumarkov, the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Kamchatka, noted such a statement. This is how he commented on the announcement of the launch of affordable charter programs in Kamchatka, Gazeta.ru reported.
These programs were announced by the Russian Union of Tourism Industry (RUST). According to Olga Sanaeva, vice-president of the Russian Union of the Tourism Industry, the cost of a package tour with flights, meals, and accommodation will be 45,000 rubles (22,000 UAH). Of them, 16,000 will go on a charter flight, the rest – on accommodation and meals.
A local official commented very favorably on this calculation. According to him, for this money, a tourist will only be able to “swallow saliva while looking at the price tags” and also walk around the unorganized city. And then he criticized the very plan to attract locusts to Kamchatka in the following statements. “Why do we need it? What will be the point for the economy and nature of Kamchatka, if a locust of destitute packers, who squeeze for every ruble, pours in here?” – He wrote to himself in Telegram.
At the moment, the publication has been deleted, but there was already a reaction. The governor of Kamchatka, Volodymyr Solodov, said that he had ordered an official inspection of the head of the Ministry of Natural Resources. He added that he was unpleasantly surprised by Kumyrkov’s publication and stated that such statements are unacceptable for the minister and do not correspond to the position of the Kamchatka region, which provides for the creation of conditions for the development of tourism.
“Kumarkov used frankly rude epithets about people who seek to organize their vacation at reasonable prices with savings for the family budget. I believe that such statements are unacceptable for the minister and, of course, do not correspond to the position of the Kamchatka region,” the governor said. As a result, Oleksiy Kumarkov was promised “strict disciplinary measures.”