The Crimean authorities may claim that 5.8 mln people have visited the peninsula this year, but the actual number of tourists is far lower, Alexander Liyev, a former Resorts and Tourism Minister of of the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, says on Facebook.
Мост турсезону не помог. Анализируем итоги крымского лета.«Крымские власти» снова не постеснялись назвать…
Opublikowany przez Александр Лиев Środa, 11 września 2019
According to the expert, about 5.2 mln tourists used to come to Crimea before it was annexed by Russia. But the Ukrainian side’s information about Simferopol airport traffic, the occupancy of 8 hotels and 24 resorts in Yalta, Alushta, Yevpatoria, Sevastopol, Koktebel and Feodosia, as well as about the border crossings is indicative of the fact that this year Crimea has been visited by only 700,000 persons. 600,000 of them are Russian citizens.
“This season turned out to be the worst in the past three years. The bridge [Russia built over the Kerch Strait] has hardly helped,” said Alexander Liyev.
In his opinion, the reasons for the decrease are the following: the rise in prices for flights to Crimea (a climb of 20% since 2015-2016) and the remoteness of the peninsula from the rest of Russia – ‘by the side of Sochi’. Notably, the flow of tourists from Ukraine has also decreased.
In addition, the costs of holidaying in Crimea are constantly growing: Liyev reports their 70-90% increase when compared to the year of 2013.
In his view, it is highly unlikely that the situation will turn positive in the near future; world-class resorts cannot exist in ‘gray areas’, the expert added.
