Concerns of domino effect in Cyprus after Russian tour operators go bust
Russian tourists have been left stranded in two hotels in Protaras area in Cyprus after two Russian tour operators went bust, raising concerns of a domino effect. Some 160 tourists have asked the Russian embassy in Cyprus for support and to negotiate with the hotels.
Russian tour operator Labirint notified the two hotels that it had gone bankrupt and that the tourists it represented must now pay for their stay and the return flights themselves.
Victoras Mantovanis, president of Cyprus tourism group ACTA, stated that two Russian companies, which offer tourist packages to Greece and Cyprus, have gone bust in the past two weeks.
Before Labirint, which brought about 150 000 to 200 000 Russian tourists to Greece and a further 10 000 to 15 000 to Cyprus, Russian company Neva too went bankrupt. Neva brought about three thousand tourists to Cyprus.
Asked about the causes, Mantovanis said that the reasons lie in th abrupt expansion of the Russian tourist market in general in the past several years, which resulted in a “bubble”.
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(Photo: Mark Merifield/flickr.com)
