Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused uncertainty for travelers, with a large number of tourists canceling planned trips to countries bordering Russia and Ukraine due to security concerns.
Since February 24, when Russia invaded Ukraine, many foreign tourists have canceled travel and hotel reservations in the Baltic region, according to SchengenVisaInfo.com.
The executive director of the Latvian Association of Hotels and Restaurants, Santa Greikste, told Latvian Radio that it is estimated that hotel reservations have been canceled by about 60 percent. However, cancellations have now stopped.
“But that doesn’t mean we’re projecting growth or living up to the expectations we had at the start of the year when those bookings came in. The start of the year was very, very encouraging. We compared it to 2019 and someone said it could beat It’s 2019. But the start of the war made adjustments and bookings were cancelled. And [tourists from] more distant and closer destinations look at Latvia very cautiously,” Greikste said.
In this regard, the Executive Director of the Lithuanian Association of Hotels and Restaurants, Eglė Lizaitytė, stressed that the situation in Lithuania was similar to that in Latvia, when a large number of hotel reservations were cancelled. Most of the bookings came from Germany, USA and Asia.
According to Lizaityte, the representatives of the sector do not have long-term expectations, emphasizing that they are confident only in the next weeks.
“We expect that this year the growth in the hotel sector will be less rapid than in 2021, most likely it will remain more or less at the level of last year. This is due to the fact that we really do not expect rapid growth due to the war in Ukraine,” Lizaityte said.
Estonian authorities also said that hotels were facing numerous cancellations, similar to other Baltic states; however, the situation has improved.
At the same time, the executive director of the Finnish Tourism Industry Association, Heli Mäki-Frenti, told Latvian Radio that it was estimated that in the first days after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Finland was not considered an attractive destination for international travel. However, she stressed that the situation is now improving.
Previously, Visit Finland stressed that the country could be hit hard by the war in Ukraine if the crisis in the latter continues.
Visit Finland director Kristiina Hietasaari said that the situation in Finland’s tourism sector has been improving, especially during the spring-summer tourist season, but now the sector is facing uncertainty due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.