ATOR warns Russians against trips to Northern Cyprus

The Alliance of Tourist Agencies of Russia has warned fellow citizens against traveling to unrecognized countries by the Russian Federation. Primarily, this concerns the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

Vice-President of the Association of Tourist Agencies of the country, Aleksan Mkrtchyan, stated this in an interview with the radio station "Moscow Speaking".

According to the specialist, "thousands of Russians" travel to Northern Cyprus annually, and all of them go to the TRNC independently, without resorting to the services of travel agencies, which do not send anyone to Northern Cyprus.

In the opinion of the Alliance representative, "such visits often end badly" because travelers in unrecognized countries cannot receive assistance from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Russia.

It is worth noting that in August of last year, the consular section of the Russian Embassy in Cyprus started operating in the northern part of Nicosia for the first time in history. Since then, a full-scale reception of all compatriots in need of consular assistance has been held here weekly. Additionally, it is noteworthy that as of today, around 50,000 Russians reside in northern Cyprus. Recently, the 3000th Russian received consular services in Northern Cyprus.

It is also worth noting that the online accommodation booking service Booking.com has previously warned about possible risks when traveling to Northern Cyprus.