KYIV, Ukraine — Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia seized from Ukraine and illegally annexed in 2014, has been targeted in repeated drone attacks against naval targets, railway lines and oil depots.Moscow accused Kyiv last month of firing British Storm Shadow missiles at a bridge that connects the 10,000-square-mile landmass to southern Ukraine.
But 16 months after Russia invaded Ukraine, the war is threatening to destroy the tourism on which Crimea depends. One Crimean tour guide told The Washington Post that tourists were continuing to visit, and “always” will. “We are not afraid of anything here,” Moryachok said. “Here is the safest place in the country in terms of defense and weapons.”
But data suggest the official optimism isn’t working. Only 1 percent of Russian hotel bookings this year have been made in Crimea, according to the online booking portal Some all-inclusive hotels have lowered their prices by as much as 60 percent. Others have simply decided not to open this summer. “But people can get to Crimea,” she continued. “Moreover, Crimea is the only region of all Russian regions that, compared to last year, did not raise prices, but lowers them.”Elena, a 55-year-old teacher in Moscow, said her family plans to visit this summer, as they do every year. Speaking on the condition that she be identified only by her first name, she said she loves the peninsula’s nature and convenience. She often travels there on one of the “very comfortable and affordable trains.