Russian students in Bournemouth and local travel agencies are seriously affected by the depreciation of the Ruble.
The economic crisis in Russia seems to be a significant obstacle for all the Russians living in Bournemouth which is considered as a tourist destination. Not so long after the depreciation of the Ruble the consequences are felt mainly by the tourism and academic sector.
Dimitri Fedurenko, owner of a tourist company in Bournemouth, which operates with Russians, is facing bankruptcy. ‘’After the depreciation of the Ruble in the past months my business is almost ruined. The situation is not looking very bright for the upcoming summer and I have not considered any holiday packages yet, but I might not consider any at all,’’ says Fedurenko.
Russian students in Bournemouth are also struggling. For Natalia Anisimova and her family the prices are prohibitive. But Natalia says that there is no coming back to Russia until she finishes her education.
”The prices are twice as high as before because of the depreciation of the Ruble. My parents need to pay twice as much as they did, and since they get their salaries in Rubles, it is quite expensive to live here,’’ says Natalia.
Tourism management Professor Chris Hall predicts that the situation with the Ruble is going to last at least three years and people running tourism programmes for Russian tourists are going to take an enormous risk. However, Russian tourists are not a large segment of the Bournemouth tourism economy.
‘’Because the pound has got much stronger than the euro, it makes it a grater loss particularly in tourism education as we have a lot of language schools in Bournemouth,’’ says Professor Hall.
