Russian Tourism Authorities Mistrust Bulgarian Counterparts

The Russian Federal Tourism Agency does not trust anymore Bulgarian authorities in charge of tourism, after more than 700 Russian nationals were held hostages for days at Bulgarian airports over a trade dispute, writes Russian media Tourprom.

The hundreds of Russians, together with hundreds of fellow tourists from Finland and the Baltic states, were stranded at Black Sea airports of Burgas and Varna after Saturday, when carrier Bulgaria Air cancelled a number of flights due to an EUR 3.6 M debt by operator Alma Tour.

All of the Russian nationals are now safely home, but Russian tourist authorities fear that their compatriots who are still making their holidays in Bulgaria might meet the same fate once the day of their departure comes, writes Tourprom.

According to the edition, the Federal Russian Agency spokesman has said they did not realize the scale of the problem, as their Bulgarian counterparts consistently informed them that the problem is just technical and will be soon eliminated.

Over the past days, Russian media have come out with publications criticizing the incident and commenting that it will have a gravely negative effect for Bulgaria, which has traditionally been a favorite destination for Russians.

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