YEREVAN, JUNE 25, ARMENPRESS. Shalva Alaverdashvili, the head of Georgia’s Association of Hotels and Restaurants, has recommended the country’s ministry of economy and tourism authorities to launch free-of-charge passenger buses from the airports of Yerevan, Armenia; Trabzon, Turkey and Baku, Azerbaijan to transport Russian tourists to Georgia.

On June 21, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order prohibiting Russian airlines from operating passenger flights to Georgia from July 8 after the recent Tbilisi protests.

Alaverdashvili said his idea is to launch shuttles in nearby airports to facilitate the travel of Russian tourists to Georgia. He said the Georgian Interior Ministry will be involved in the final decision-making.

Edited and translated by Stepan Kocharyan