Analysts assessed the impact of conflicts with tourists on the flow of tourists from Russia to Georgia.

Two conflicts involving Russian-speaking tourists are unlikely to affect the flow of tourists to Georgia, which has remained a popular destination for many years, and are rather isolated cases. At the same time, part of Georgian society has a negative attitude towards relocants, the influx of which has impacted the economic situation.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot", the beating of a Russian-speaking tourist by a resident of Georgia, Giorgi Chigladze, caused a stir on social media. Georgian police stated that Chigladze attacked the tourist due to an insult directed at wedding participants. The victim's friend claims that the conflict arose because of the Russian language. A march took place in Tbilisi, where participants expressed support for Chigladze. The court in Telavi released Chigladze on bail. In court, he stated that he regretted what happened. Georgian media reported that the victim holds citizenship of Russia and Turkey. In a recording that preceded the beating of the tourist by a wedding participant in Telavi, the girl waved from the window to the participants of the celebration taking place outside her hotel room, but in response faced accusations of having poured water on the equipment and insults. The victim herself stated that they did not provoke the wedding participants.

The tour organizer in Georgia and wine guide Anna Filatova is confident that the recent series of incidents in Georgia involving Russian tourists cannot negatively affect the current tourist season.

"For most Russian tourists, Georgia remains a country where the political background and vacation existed separately from each other, and the destination was considered convenient and safe, where individual incidents were perceived as exceptions. If there are more such conflicts, it will change the overall picture. Even if people do not refuse to travel immediately, they will start to pay more attention to the news and the general background, which already reduces tourist attractiveness in competitive rivalry with other destinations," she told a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot."

If the feeling that conflicts with Russians are no longer rare becomes established in the information field, it will start to work against demand.

Emerging conflicts may primarily deal a reputational blow to the destination, but if they are curtailed, in the long term, this will not affect the activity of tourists from the Russian Federation, the specialist is convinced.

"The habit of separating politics from personal safety does exist among some tourists, but it is not infinite, and if the feeling that conflicts with Russians are no longer rare becomes established in the information field, it will start to work against demand. At the same time, it cannot yet be said that the country has become unsafe overall: it is about the intensification of negative advertising, which is especially painful against the backdrop of already tense Georgian-Russian relations," she noted.

Georgia firmly retains its status as a close, convenient, and maximally safe destination for Russians, and a couple of such incidents cannot overshadow this long-standing experience.

Information spikes around isolated conflicts cannot disrupt the high demand for trips, believes the tourism industry expert, confident that the representative of the travel company "Level-Travel" Alexey.

"Georgia firmly retains its status as a close, convenient, and maximally safe destination for Russians, and a couple of such incidents cannot overshadow this long-standing experience. Tourists do not feel a sense of personal risk, so the flow of tourists maintains an excellent pace: bookings continue as before, and interest in the destination remains," he told the "Caucasian Knot."

Talks about reputational risks for the country are greatly exaggerated, he notes.

"Russian tourists understand the real situation on the ground and continue to choose Georgia for its convenient logistics and comfortable conditions. Any attempts to inflate domestic disputes into a systemic problem are thwarted by real travel statistics: people have continued to travel as they did before, enjoying their vacations there," he pointed out.

Recently recorded conflicts do not indicate a sharp change in attitude towards Russians, believes senior researcher at the Institute of Geography of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Doctor of Geographical Sciences Alexey Gunya.

"It seems to me that the conflicts over the last 10 days are not a sign of changing public sentiment towards citizens of Russia. Rather, it is an overall evolution of civil society in Georgia, which is becoming more principled towards outsiders. This is also evident in the attitude towards migrants," he told a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot."

There may be some slogans against Russia as a country, but this is not a sign of a sharp change in sentiment towards citizens of Russia, he emphasized. According to the analyst, such incidents will not deter Russian tourists, the expert believes.

"It seems to me that such cases cannot radically change tourists' attitudes towards trips to Georgia. It will still remain attractive, and there are many Russians there, and because there are many of them, the likelihood of random clashes may be higher. Any incident can be exploited by various forces to achieve the goals of certain groups both in Russia and in Georgia. But if we talk about the normal context of diplomatic and other Russian-Georgian relations, it is unlikely that these incidents should be taken seriously," he noted.

There is no hostility towards tourists from the Russian Federation, as long as they do not demonstrate support for the Putin regime. There is another problem — the generally quite high level of emotionality among local residents and a tendency to resort to violence.

Russian tourists do not face negative attitudes in Georgia, believes political scientist Sergey Zhavoronkov.

"There is no hostility towards tourists from the Russian Federation, as long as they do not demonstrate support for the Putin regime. There is another problem — the generally quite high level of emotionality among local residents and a tendency to resort to violence, which exceeds the norm. The attitude towards relocants is somewhat different: part of Georgian society believes that their number is excessive and negatively affects the ethnic-cultural balance of such a small country, as well as leads to rising prices for real estate and rent," he told a correspondent of the "Caucasian Knot."

Emerging domestic tensions cannot affect interstate relations or tourism, the political scientist is convinced.

"I think that this will not affect Russian-Georgian relations, which were very warm during Ivanishvili's rule, nor the desire of Russians to visit Georgia. Overall, it is a fairly safe country, street crime is low, prices are affordable, if we do not take into account the obviously inflated prices for air tickets, which are much more expensive than in Armenia, for example," he noted.

"Caucasian Knot" also reported that on July 11, in Tbilisi, participants of a memorial event for fighters killed in combat in Ukraine held a march near the parliament building. A conflict occurred between the march participants and a group of tourists . Georgian media reported that the tourists were from Russia. The incident caused a stir on social media. Commentators debated its causes. Some users believed that the tourists merely responded to the aggression of the demonstrators, while others stated that their behavior was the cause of the incident.