OREANDA-NEWS. The owners of small and medium-sized hotels located in the Black Sea resort town of Kobuleti (Adzhar Autonomous Republic) held a protest rally on Friday calling on the republic’s authorities to compensate them for the material damage caused by the lack of tourists from the Russian Federation. This was reported by Channel One of the Public Broadcaster of Georgia.

"The season has failed. Reservations for a total of 80 thousand lari (more than $ 27 thousand) have been canceled. We have to pay bank debts since August 20. How can we do this when there is no income, and tourists who don't come for two or three days Stayed here? The state must fulfill its promises and help us with something", the Russian television channel quotes one of the protesters.

Protesters are demanding that the government help them in restructuring their debt or get involved in subsidizing the interest they have to pay for the money they borrow. Kobuleti Mayor Mirian Katamdze met with the protesters, who assured the protesters that the authorities were already working and were looking for ways to help. "Local and central authorities are working to alleviate the problem for manufacturers. The issue of subsidizing bank interest is being considered, but this is a complex process. It's necessary to develop specific criteria, this will be clarified in the near future", Katamadze told reporters.

Georgian Prime Minister Mamuka Bakhtadze said on August 12 that the tourism sector had suffered about $ 60 million due to a decrease in tourist flows from the Russian Federation. He also said earlier that the Cabinet of Ministers, in connection with the reduction in the number of tourists from the Russian Federation, decided to provide financial assistance to the owners of those hotels that had plans to expand their business this year, as well as help entrepreneurs planning to build new hotels.