Chechen TV reports thousands of Israeli tourists in Grozny

In less than a year, 3600 Israeli citizens visited Chechnya, the republic's authorities claim citing a travel agency from Pyatigorsk. Other tourism professionals interviewed by the "Caucasian Knot" haven't noticed much interest in Chechnya among foreign tourists.

The "Caucasian Knot" has reported that on August 1, Ramzan Kadyrov criticized the call of Israeli authorities to abandon trips to Chechnya. There are no terrorists in the republic; and Israeli citizens visit the region daily, he said. However, tourism industry experts state that the share of tourists from Israel in Chechnya is very small.

In their turn, the authors of the report on the "Grozny" TV Channel emphasized that tourists from Israel, like from any other country, are in complete safety in Chechnya.

Tourists who visited Grozny also figured in the report: girls from Kalmykia and Dagestan, as well as a woman from Ukraine, stated that they were very happy with their trip to Chechnya. However, the authors failed to show any tourists from Israel.

The shown report is the expected reaction of the Chechen authorities to Israel's recommendation to fight terrorism, local residents have noted. "For several years the republic's leadership has been trumpeting the victory over terrorism; and, suddenly, such a warning. Of course, it was painfully perceived by the authorities; moreover, that they focus a lot on the development of tourism," said Abubakar, a local resident.