Russian Duma Speaker Vyacheslav Volodin commented on what he termed “the frenzy of plans to stop our citizens from visiting the EU,” writing on his official Telegram channel that the EU would lose roughly EUR21 billion (USD20.97 billion) if it banned Russian tourists from entering the bloc.
The official claims that eighty percent of the global public opposes the sanctions on Moscow; thus, Russian travellers can choose from a wide variety of destinations outside of Europe. In addition, he recommends investing in Russia’s own tourist infrastructure to support domestic tourism.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky encouraged the West to bar admission to Russian visitors in early August, musing that the Russians should “live in their own universe until they reform their mindset.” Moscow reacted negatively, calling the policy “racist” and claiming that the idea would have bad consequences for everyone.
Increased pressure has been put on the European Commission to prevent Russian tourists from accessing the EU’s borderless territory because of the conflict in Ukraine. Because of their commitment to the freedom of movement concept, France and Germany have thus far declined to support the proposal of the Baltic Sea and a few nations in the core European Union.
