Shopping in Lithuania: 30% less Belarusians now
The sales have decreased a lot, Lithuanians admit.
Belarusians have started going shopping in Lithuania much less, Delfi reports. The number of Belarusian customers has decreased by a third in January 2015 in comparison with January 2014, head of the shopping center Ozas Inga Navickaitė noted (the number of Russians is half less).
“The number of Belarusian guests has decreased by 30%. We can count the receipts: Belarusians got more than 5000 receipts last January and only a bit more than 3600 – in January 2015,” Navickaitė said. The reason for it is evident, she thinks.
Navickaitė: “The devaluation of the rouble is the main reason. Additional taxes imposed on the purchase of foreign currency are also to blame for it.”
It is also rather difficult to get a visa in Belarus, she said.
The arrival of Belarusians is a seasonal event in Akropolis, its press secretary noted. Sellers are hoping that more Belarusians will start arriving in February and March.
