For the first time, Crimea was not included in the top five most popular domestic resorts for the May holidays. Demand for the resort has fallen by 30-45%. Tour operators have voiced forecasts of a drop in demand earlier – the reason for the closure of Simferopol Airport, as well as fears of tourists due to the declared “yellow” level of danger. Hoteliers are also recording cancellations, and 10% of them are already postponing the opening until at least the summer season.
The fact that Crimea for the first time did not enter the top 5 most popular domestic resorts for the May holidays was stated by Kommersant experts who interviewed experts from the tourist market. The general director of the Dolphin tour operator Sergey Romashkin estimated that the demand for Crimea during the May holidays decreased by 40-45%, while usually it was the second most popular after Sochi. He also noted that about 10% of Crimean hotels are postponing the opening due to low demand.
Other experts estimate the decline in sales at 30%. Fixed decline in demand and “private traders” – service Tvil.ru noted that the direction in March-April accounted for 18% of requests, instead of the usual 70-75%. The main reason is the transport problem. Hoteliers also confirm the problem – usually seasonal hotels in Crimea start on May 1 or June 1, but this year there are already cancellations from tourists who planned to travel from afar and by plane. As a result, hotels are afraid to open
At the same time, experts do not expect that by the summer the situation will normalize and the airport will be opened. So far, there are no tickets on sale earlier than the end of May – and many air carriers have canceled flights until September. Also, Kommersant did not fail to scare tourists with the fact that not only the border regions of Crimea, but also the Crimean Bridge fell into the declared “yellow” zone due to terrorist danger.
Officially, the Crimean authorities are sure that the situation is not in season interfere. However, the interviewed experts are rather pessimistic. There is hope that by the long weekend “autotourists” from nearby regions will become more active, but this hope does not seem justified to everyone. The forecast figures, however, differ – someone hopes that Crimea will be able to stay at the level of last year and receive 9.5 million people, but in general, the peninsula is predicted to decline by 30-35% to 6 – 6.5 million people.
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