Odesa was once one of Ukraine's most visited cities but now its beaches and cafes are empty. FRANCE 24 spoke to tourism workers who have been struggling to make ends meet in the southern Ukrainian port city.
It is tourist season on Odesa's Black Sea coast but there is scarcely a soul to be seen on its beaches. There is just a scattering of tourists bronzing themselves on the promenade. Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, even the sea is a war zone.
"As you see, there's no one on the beach," said Vyacheslav Latushko, general service manager at Odesa's Hotel Nemo. "That area is closed and the people cannot go there any more. [...] Before, we had a lot of people from Saudi Arabia, from Europe, from Israel, and from Turkey. Now we have only people from Ukraine. It's very difficult."
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