Tourists from former Soviet countries are ready to go on vacation to Dombai
The survey was conducted on the initiative of the international research agency 'Eurasian Monitor' in April–June 2008 among 16,143 people in 13 countries – former republics of the Soviet Union. Respondents were asked to choose a country in the post-Soviet space where they would most like to go if they could visit only one place there.
Russians most often named Ukraine (14%), with Georgia (8%) as the second most popular answer. Six percent of respondents expressed a desire to visit a place in Belarus and Latvia.
Less frequently, Russians expressed a desire to visit Estonia (4%), Armenia, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan (3% each). Even fewer respondents were ready to take a tourist trip to Moldova, Azerbaijan, or Lithuania (2% each). The least attractive countries for tourism according to Russians were Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan (1% each), and Turkmenistan (less than 1%).
In other post-Soviet countries, Russia remains the most desired destination. As sociologists note, holidays in Dombai, on the Volga, as well as traditional seaside tourism are in particular demand. The citizens of Kyrgyzstan (62%) and Armenia (59%) expressed the strongest desire to visit Russia. Georgians (47%), Tajiks and Uzbeks (45% each) reported this somewhat less frequently. About a third of residents of Moldova (37%), Kazakhstan (34%), Belarus (31%) and nearly a quarter of Latvians, Lithuanians (28% each) and Ukrainians (26%) also want to visit Russia.
Azerbaijanis (10%) expressed the least desire to visit any place in Russia.
As RIA Novosti reports, sociologists have identified a mutual interest in visiting among residents of some post-Soviet states. In particular, Belarusians most often choose Russia (31%) and Ukraine (14%) among all possible post-Soviet countries to visit, while Ukrainians choose Russia (26%) and less often Belarus (3%).
A mutual desire to visit a place in a neighboring country is found among Russians, Georgians, and Latvians. Thus, residents of Georgia most often note that they want to visit Russia (47%). Georgians are also inclined to visit Latvia (6%). Latvians show interest in visiting Russia (28%) and Georgia (7%).
Residents of the Baltic countries also demonstrate mutual interest: 5% of Latvians say they would like to visit Lithuania, and 5% of Lithuanians express a desire to visit the Latvians.
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