Huge flow of Russian tourists to Georgia causes hours-long traffic jam at the border

Hundreds of cars have been stuck in a traffic jam at the Russian-Georgian border. This video was made on 8 August when there were already over 500 vehicles by noon.

The majority of those standing in line here are Russian tourists travelling to Georgia on vacation. There are also many people driving to Armenia and Azerbaijan.

According to Russian officials, the traffic jam has been caused by an unprecedented tourist flow to Georgia. Over 14 000 people crossed the border into Georgia within a day. Meanwhile, the daily capacity of the ‘Verkhniy Lars’ (Upper Lars) crossing point is three times less.

The situation is further aggravated by hot weather. The temperature in North Ossetia has recently reached 40⁰C.