Linas Jegelevičius for the BNN
War in Ukraine is reverberating across the world, echoing in Lithuania too. Unfortunately, horrific photos and videos from the war-ruined Ukrainian cities frighten some Westerners so much that they cancel their holiday plans even in Lithuania, some 1 000 kilometres away from the war zone.
«The hotels that usually accommodate groups of visitors mentioned a couple of weeks ago that they see reservations made by German and Austrian tourism agencies cancelled until May 15. Meanwhile, those for later remain intact, which is a hopeful sign, Edita Lubickaitė, director of Nida Culture and Tourism Information Centre «Agila», told BNN.
The resort of Neringa, she says, is reeling off from the abating COVID-19 pandemic which, for the last two years, deterred German tourists from travelling to the picturesque, serene and German heritage-rich municipality.
«Due to it, we saw a redistribution of tourist segments in Neringa – Germans were replaced by Latvians, Estonians, Poles,» she said. «The arrival of a first cruise ship to Klaipėda after a hiatus due to the pandemic is a very positive sign for us, as part of cruise passengers reach Nida too.»
The local residents are also feel menaced by Russia, a big and pugnacious neighbour within the distance of stone’s throw, but officials reassure that Neringa is not in Russia’s eye.
«All the people who live here or come for holidays ask me the same question: «How is the situation at the border?» I have to answer this question every day and more than once,» Neringa Mayor Darius Jasaitis admitted.
He urges Neringa residents and visitors to feel safe because there is no information on the possible threats from Kaliningrad. Jasaitis hopes that the places of German tourists will be replace by Lithuanian vacationers.
«There was a similar situation during the COVID-19 pandemic. There were mass cancellations because the movement was restricted, but those places were filled by Lithuanians… I think there will be more opportunities for Lithuanians to spend their holidays here,» the mayor said.
The whole Klaipeda County, and Neringa, too, is known for its German heritage. The Klaipėda Region or Memel Territory (In German, Memelland or Memelgebiet) was formed by the 1919 Treaty of Versailles in 1920 and refers to the northernmost part of the German province of East Prussia, when, as Memelland, it was put temporarily under the administration of the Entente’s Council of Ambassadors. Besides, Nida has been home for a prolific German writer and a Nobel laureate, Thomas Mann. The festival named after him is held in Nida because the writer spent many summers in a cottage there.
Yet local social media groups are teeming and sizzling with fear-sparked speculations and conspiracy theories, following Russia’s military build-up in the Kaliningrad region, and about trees being cut down and roads widened on the Russian side of the border near Neringa. Even Lithuanian Defence Minister Arvydas Anušauskas has cautioned that there are currently no threats to Lithuania from Kaliningrad.
Other tourism representatives also hint that Lithuania’s inbound tourism may suffer from the war in Ukraine.
Ingrida Valaitienė, President of the Palanga Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRA), told BNN she has already observed initial signs of cancellations – the war is sited as the reason.
«Let’s say some German tourists, also tourists from other countries in the group segment, are simply cancelling their orders due to fears and stress to travel to our country this summer,» she said.
She maintains the association does all it can to prove that the situation in Lithuania is normal.
«Since these are only the initial cancellations of orders, we are explaining that there is no war here yet, that we are living and working in the normal way. We will see what happens next,» said the president of the association.
According to I. Valaitienė, if not for the war in Ukraine, the tourism sector would have recovered substantially after the COVID-19 pandemic. The consequence of the COVID pandemic was that Palanga had more than 90 percent of Lithuanian visitors and only 8 percent were from abroad.
Some tourism sector executives maintain damage of the war to Lithuanian tourism can be tangible though – with summer travel sales seemingly to be declining by about a quarter.
«Especially from the far-flung countries, as well as from the old European markets,» said Žydrė Gavelienė, head of the National Tourism Business Association and head of the travel agency Estravel.
Although the country’s tourism agencies receive a large number of inquiries from residents regarding planned holiday trips, there are no mass cancellations, she insists. According to her, in the aftermath of the war in Ukraine, inbound tourism has more challenges and questions than outbound tourism.
Rasa Levickaitė of the air ticket sale platform skrendu.lt said that the first days of the war pushed ticket sales down, but not significantly. According to her, some people made inquiries about taking their families out of Lithuania, but usually buy return tickets.
Meanwhile, Milda Plepytė-Rainienė, head of the Lithuanian Tourism Association, said it was too early to predict what impact the war in Ukraine may have on Lithuanian travellers’ plans.
Lithuanian Airports (LOU) said the war in Ukraine mainly impacted airlines that flew to and from Ukraine or based their aircraft there.
«Speaking of the impact on Lithuanian airports, we have not seen any major negative fluctuations in the number of passengers so far, as most of the destinations are in (Western) European countries. We estimate that the suspension of direct flights to Ukraine will reduce the total number of passengers by about 2 percent,» Tadas Vasiliauskas, spokesman for LOU, said.
Darius Viltrakis, head of Get Jet Airlines, says that closing the airspaces of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine has so far affected only flights to Egypt.
Meanwhile, Snieguolė Valiaugaitė, «Keliauk Lietuvoje» communication project manager, expects that the adversities will prompt fellow Lithuanians to discover what the country’s regions offer for this tourism season. Kaunas invites to celebrate European Capital of Culture year, Alytus to celebrate Lithuanian Capital of Culture title, Trakai – its 700th anniversary and Lithuanian Karaim year, Šiauliai Chocolate Museum – a decade after its establishment, Vilnius is also starting to prepare intensively for its 700th birthday.
«It seems that this year, travellers will often have a question not about where to travel, but how to keep up to see everything. We are glad to see the recovering local tourist flows – it encourages tourism business to create. New places to visit for families, for nature and hiking trails lovers will open this year, new accommodations will also open their doors,» she told BNN.
More than 40 new ideas for trips in Lithuania in 2022 were offered by «Keliauk Lietuvoje».
BNN ANALYSES | Ukraine’s bombing and shelling lead to Westerners’ holiday cancellations in Lithuania
