REZEKNE, Latvia, June 10 (Reuters) – At Birdwhistles Guesthouse, in a rustic two-storey wooden barn in the Latvian forest 50 km from the Russian border, all eight rooms are vacant, which absolutely never happens this time of year, says the owner, Martins Kiscenko.
Two wedding parties had been booked to stay, but the couples cancelled at the last minute, because they didn’t want their guests to have to scramble for shelter from a drone alert.
Eastern Latvia is an extraordinarily tranquil and picturesque woodland region known as the Land of Blue Lakes, where there’s usually not a huge amount to do, which is exactly why tourists come every summer.
There’s fishing in the cold clear waters. Birdwatching. Hiking through forests of birches straight as poles. And at the end of the day, maybe singing some folk songs in a cozy cabin.
But faced with the prospect of being interrupted to find shelter from stray Ukrainian attack drones, tourists are staying away, and some 500 small businesses that rely on them are heading for financial trouble, said Jelena Kijasko of the regional tourism industry association.
Since late May, no drones arrived for two weeks. That gave rise to hope that the situation had improved. But then, on Monday, a French NATO jet was forced to shoot another drone down.
Alas, “now we know it will not be so easy,” Kijasko told Reuters, hours after the incident.
Stray Ukrainian military drones have been entering the airspace of Latvia and its Baltic neighbours since March. Kyiv and the NATO countries say the weapons have been diverted from intended targets in Russia by Russian signal jamming.
No one has been hurt, but the incursions have triggered regular orders to residents to seek shelter. That’s impossible in Kiscenko’s wooden guesthouse, which has no basement or heavy walls: “That was not a requirement when I built it,” he says dryly.
Last month, two drones exploded in the middle of the town of Rezekne, where sightseers normally come to view a ruined hilltop castle. Two other drones hit an oil storage facility nearby, causing a fire.
The authorities are trying to help persuade Latvians that the area is nonetheless safe to holiday as usual. Prime Minister Andris Kulbergs is planning to spend his summer vacation in the region, his spokesperson told Reuters.
But it may be too late. Kijasko said a survey by her association of tourism businesses showed 85% of them faced cancellations due to drone fears, with some losing over half of their future business.
Kijasko insisted it was silly for tourists to stay away.
“We live here and we don’t feel ourselves particularly endangered,” she said. “The probability of being in a road accident in Riga is much, much higher than having a drone fall on your head in the forest.”
Andrius Sytas
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