Reduction in the quality of tourist services in Abkhazia has shrunk the tourist flow to the country, Abkhazian President Sergei Bagapsh said.
Many of those Abkhazians engaged in the tourist sector of the country have become impolite and even rude with tourists, Bagapsh said in a TV interview. "We have been cultivating love to Abkhazia for centuries, but respect could be lost within a season," he said.
Georgian authorities have blamed Russia for the reduction of the tourist flow to Abkhazia.
However, Bagapsh said this position is incorrect. "Georgia should stop... proclaiming that it is Russia that hinders Georgia from normal life," Bagapsh said. Human and any other relations will improve when Georgia recognizes the independence of Abkhazia, he added.
The Georgian Interior Ministry proclaimed "visiting Abkhazia and South Ossetia without the knowledge of the Georgian authorities" as a criminal offense in late August.
"Violators" may be fined up to $1,200 and those who "collude" with the authorities of the two territories could face up to five years behind bars, the ministry said.
RIA Novosti
