Strolling among tourist sites, posing for photos on beautiful beaches, and awkwardly dancing to merengue: Russian tourists have found a favorable holiday destination on a Venezuelan island far from the homeland and war with Ukraine.
Isla de Margarita is a tropical gem with white sand beaches and turquoise waters. However, years of political and economic turmoil in Venezuela have scared away most tourists, with Western nations sternly warning citizens not to travel there.
For the thousands of Russians who want to holiday in the sun but face visa and flight restrictions ukraine War, it’s a match made in Caribbean heaven.
“There aren’t many destinations available to Russia right now. It’s hard to find a place to go on vacation,” says Ekaterina Dolgova, 39, who sells medical supplies.
Among a group of Russian tourists on a recent guided tour of the island, he is more than willing to say anything about the brutal conflict in which Ukrainians are under constant Russian assault and enduring freezing temperatures, many without running water or electricity. , Thousands of miles away.
“A war is the worst thing ever,” he summarized. Some fear that if they speak out, others will back President Vladimir Putin’s war effort.
Russian translation
Over the past two months, nearly 3,000 Russian tourists have taken advantage of a new direct flight between Moscow and Isla de Margarita with Russia’s Norwind Airlines.
The route reopened on 2 October after a seven-month interruption due to the war, and was modified to avoid flying over airspace restricted by the sanctions.
Isla de Margarita, a 14-hour flight from Moscow, is also touted as an affordable option. Tourist Sergei Kach said he paid $3,500 for a 12-day package on the island.
A sign reading “Welcome” in Russian greets tourists at the island’s international airport. Everything is organized, from island tours to Russian translation services.
Travelers do not leave their hotel without a guide.
Dolgova said she decided to travel to Venezuela after rejecting Egypt, where she had already been twice, and where she says the treatment of Russians has changed since the war began.
‘secret weapon’
President Nicolas Maduro sees tourism as a secret weapon to revive an economy that is showing timid signs of recovery after years of hyperinflation and free fall.
They have signed a deal with Russia, a strong ally, to receive about 100,000 tourists by December 31.
This boom in tourism has had a direct impact on the island’s economy, said Viviana Wethencourt, president of the Chamber of Tourism of Nueva Esparta state, which includes Isla de Margarita and two other islands.
There are no figures, she says, but improvements are slowly visible.
For saleswoman Nacarid, who sells jewelry and beachwear, “things sell, but not like before,” when the island bustled with visitors from Europe and the United States.
“They’re hagglers,” she complains, as one of the Russian tourists persuades her to halve the price of an item.
Dmitry Bobkov, 31, a university professor, tries to dance to the sounds of merengue from the radio as the tour group stops at a gas station. He visited the grave of socialist icon Hugo Chávez and played football with children in the slum.
“Here, I like the people, the food, the nature, the climate,” said Bobkov. “I’ll probably remember it for the rest of my life.”
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