Seventy percent of Russians think it is too dangerous to travel overseas in the aftermath of terror attacks in Paris and the Middle East, a poll published Wednesday showed.
Twenty-five percent of respondents to the survey by the independent Levada Center agreed that it was “long past time” to stop going abroad, while a further 45 percent said overseas travel had temporarily become too unsafe.
The poll followed the downing of a Russian passenger jet over Egypt in a terror attack in October, as well as terrorist atrocities in Paris last year. It also comes as Russian media and officials play up the terror threat from Syria and Turkey amid a spat over the shooting down of a Russian warplane over the border with Syria last November.
Egypt and Turkey had been among the most popular tourist destinations for Russians.
The poll also found that 65 percent of respondents had not left the country over the past 5 years. That number has come down from more than 80 percent in polls conducted in 2010 and 2011. But an economic crisis and the devaluation of the ruble is now making foreign travel more expensive for Russians.
The poll questioned 1,600 adults across Russia from Dec. 17-21. Its margin of error was given at 3.4 percent.
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