Crimea begins restoring tourism through low prices in 2024

MOSCOW. Aug 2 (Interfax) - Crimea has begun restoring its tourism in 2024 after two years of decline, and the return of tourists is associated with attractive vacation prices compared to other Black Sea regions, tour operators said.

"The demand for Crimea has increased by some 25%. All of Russia - Sochi, Anapa, Gelendzhik, Kaliningrad, Dagestan, which demonstrated crazy growth of 30%-40% a year over the past two years - is demonstrating the Russian regular average plus 15% in tourism. And Crimea has the fastest growth. Nothing is growing faster than Crimea," the press service for the Russian Union of Travel Industry quoted Aleksan Mkrtchyan, general director of the chain of travel agencies Rozovy Slon, as saying.

The reason is that accommodation prices have not increased in Crimea, he said.

"Crimean hoteliers managed to maintain the prices at last year's level. If some have raised [the prices], that's 4-5 star hotels. And if we see a 20% increase in prices in Sochi, and last year the increase was 30% from the previous year, the increase in Crimea is 10%-11%. Some facilities have kept the prices at 5,000 rubles a day despite inflation and the increase in wages. I know such hotels in Sudak, and in Feodosia, and in Yevpatoria," he said.

Mkrtchyan also said the decision made by Crimea's governor Sergei Aksyonov not to introduce a resort fee made Crimea more attractive to tourists.

"We have the same situation. The average increase is 25%, and in some places 40%. Crimean hoteliers managed to keep the prices at last year's level, and if they increased, it was by only 5%-10%, which is much lower than in Krasnodar Territory. This played a considerable role in the flow of tourists to Crimea. Hotel occupancy in Crimea has increased on average by 40%," Yevgenia Kizei, product director of the tour operator Multitour, said.

Oksana Bulak, commercial director of the company Alean, also said Crimean hotels have not increased prices this summer.

"The average price growth for the summer season in Crimea does not exceed 12%. Last year, many facilities maintained 2022 prices. Medium-sized and small hotels regularly offer promotions, for example, weekend stays, thus increasing their occupancy and drawing tourists from neighboring regions. By way of comparison, the average increase in the cost of accommodation in Krasnodar Territory is 20% this year," she said.

Sergei Aksyonov, the head of Crimea, said on Thursday that tourism to Crimea has increased by almost 20% to 3.3 million people in January-July. A total of 62.1% arrived by car and by bus via the Crimean Bridge, 27.3% used trains, and 10.6% used vehicle transport through the new regions. According to the Crimean authorities, 1.2 million Russians vacationed in Crimea in July, which is one third more than in July 2023.