Ways to improve the development of international tourism in Crimea. Problems of tourism development in Crimea Tourism in regional development of Crimea

The resort peninsula is forming and discussing a new tourism development strategy based on the “genius of the place”

Sea, sun and water - this set of advantages opens the right path to fierce price competition for tourists. History, cuisine, nature, wine, festivals - this already sounds more promising. The resort peninsula is forming and discussing a new tourism development strategy based on the “genius of the place.”

Not just the beach

Beach tourism is a natural specialization of tourism for Crimea. One might even say obvious. The problem is that a tourist who sets off on a journey just for the sake of the beach is not loyal - he doesn’t care what point on the planet the segment is located seashore, suitable for recreation, so the price of the trip becomes not only the main, but almost the only factor of choice. Accordingly, the region, which makes its main economic bet on the beaches, becomes completely dependent on the price situation of its closest competitors.

If Türkiye, Greece or even Krasnodar region will make obviously more favorable offers to Russian tourists, Crimea will immediately lose a significant part of the tourist flow. In addition, the peninsula, where there are up to 300 sunny days a year, becomes crowded during the beach season—it would like to receive guests all year round.

This year, the region is hosting several major events in November, hoping to attract the attention of interested audiences, including hospitality industry players and investors, to its year-round, beach-independent opportunities.

Genius loci

Crimea needs to focus mainly on those guests who can evaluate the region as unique place, which has a unique set of advantages. To do this, it is necessary to focus on promoting the “specialties” of the peninsula, which are still less famous than its beaches, according to experts in the tourism industry.
“Crimea has a colossal cultural and historical component that remains to be promoted: Chersonese, ancient settlements in the Bakhchisarai Valley, the site of the Yalta Conference of 1945 and the favorite residence of the last Russian Emperor Nicholas II - the Livadia Palace, Massandra and Vorontsov palaces, the ancient fortresses of Feodosia and Kerch . Pushkin, Tsvetaeva, Voloshin, Chekhov lived and worked here. Their dachas and the houses of their friends have been preserved. There are a great many such objects, and just to travel around, have a look, appreciate the cuisine in cute little cafes and restaurants, and enjoy the views - a week is definitely not enough. And the best time for this is not summer, when it is too hot here. The ideal period is the autumn-spring period,” the Minister of Resorts and Tourism of Crimea Vadim Volchenko is convinced.

Vadim Volchenko (Photo: press service)

As the minister notes, you can often hear from those who come to the peninsula: “I was in Livadia and Vorontsov Palace, I don’t want to go there anymore, and I don’t even know what else to see.”

The territory is also underestimated from the point of view active rest and ecotourism. "Here great amount scenic hiking trails, and quite accessible ones. The most you will need is comfortable shoes. And you are already walking along a wide path covered with pine needles, with magnificent views. There really is a lot of this in Crimea, but people don’t know enough about it,” he emphasizes.

In winter and autumn-spring, medical tourism is especially attractive. Crimea, famous in Soviet time with its resorts and sanatoriums, it has largely preserved this infrastructure and, importantly, highly qualified specialists who know unique treatment and rehabilitation techniques remain here.

Of course, the existing medical base requires updating. “It is necessary to introduce modern products, including luxury ones, related to body diagnostics (Check-Up), new popular procedures, and to abandon this term “sankur”. People should understand that they offer medical services that keep up with the times,” I am sure CEO MriyaResort&Spa Hrant Babasyan.

Hrant Babasyan (Photo: Mriya Resort & Spa)

At the same time, he emphasizes that conventional marketing tools are not enough to attract tourists. “The challenge is to convince clients to come to us. And today there is only one way to convince - from hand to hand, when one came, tried it, and told his friends. However, this “word of mouth” factor is very sensitive to quality, because if something goes wrong, not only the client himself will not return, but also his friends will not come,” explains Babasyan.

In addition, continues the head of MriyaResort&Spa, Crimea is very different from other regions in that there is one or another cultural site or attraction on almost every kilometer. Therefore, everything needs to be put in order, and somewhere a new all-season infrastructure needs to be created. For example, make the same dolphinarium closed so that it can function not only in the summer. “The appearance of indoor swimming pools, year-round aquariums, and congress opportunities will lead to an increase in hotel occupancy, the development of related tourism infrastructure and the entire peninsula as a whole. This is precisely what needs to be emphasized so that in the future the peninsula can develop without government injections,” Babasyan is confident.

Expansion of the tourist season due to the development of the most different directions It will not only increase the flow of vacationers, but will also distribute the load on the infrastructure, notes the Minister of Tourism of Crimea Volchenko.

Gastronomic paradise

The development of event tourism can significantly promote Crimea as a territory attractive to tourists.

“A competently organized event can increase the number of tourists by a quarter,” says Igor Kaverzin, vice-president of the National Association of Event Tourism Specialists (NAST), chairman of the expert council of the National Award in the field of event tourism, RussianEventAwards. And in this case, it is worth considering not only tourists who visited the event itself, but also those who learned about the tourist location thanks to the promotion of the event and will be able to visit it at another time.

“Today, Crimea, from the point of view of individual bright, original tourist events, is developing quite actively. The content is interesting, but so far there is no complexity and consistency in the formation of the event calendar, there is no interaction of events with each other. In addition, the level of service in the hospitality sector, including in the field of event tourism, remains insufficiently high,” says Kaverzin.

The expert identifies three areas that should be emphasized when promoting event tourism in Crimea. Firstly, these are reconstruction events that reflect the historical diversity of the territory. “The Genoese Helmet festival is already popular today,” notes Kaverzin.

The second is the maritime direction - holding sailing regattas and festivals. And third is gastronomic tourism and gastronomic events. Crimean cuisine is very diverse both ethnically and regionally. “Here you can taste Crimean Tatar, Greek, and Bulgarian cuisine,” confirms Crimean Tourism Minister Volchenko. - Moreover, you can go to sea on a boat with local resident, and then bring your catch to a coastal cafe, where they will immediately prepare it for you - fish doesn’t get any tastier! And Crimean tomatoes with Yalta onions, homemade sunflower oil and aromatic black bread, or mushrooms just picked in the forest and fried with potatoes, will leave few people indifferent.”

Beaujolais holiday - Crimean version

Wine festivals deserve special mention. Thus, Kaverzin gives an example, in the fall the annual WineFest festival is held in Balaklava. This year, from November 4 to 6, the Novemberfest young wine festival will be held. According to the Minister of Tourism of Crimea, 15 wineries that produce their own wine in Crimea will open their doors to tourists. These are, for example, Massandra, Inkerman, Sun Valley, New World, Koktebel and others.

“Of course, you can spend these three days off in Moscow, St. Petersburg or fly somewhere, but you can spend them in Crimea at the festival of new wine. Tour farms, taste wine, try Crimean cuisine and enjoy the beautiful views,” says Volchenko.

Wine cluster

As winemaker Pavel Shvets notes, Crimea (especially the territories in the area of Koktebel, Feodosia, Sudak and Sevastopol) was simply created for the development of winemaking and wine tourism. “In Chersonesus, viticulture appeared in the 4th century BC. There are a lot of autochthonous grape varieties here. Crimea and the Black Sea coast are home to the Vitisvinifera grape, which was brought to Europe and from which wine is made there today,” he says.

Pavel Shvets (Photo: personal Facebook page)

Currently in Crimea, active work is underway in terms of developing small winemaking enterprises that have plots of 10-20 hectares. In Sevastopol, the goal is to increase the number of such enterprises to 200. This, in addition to the development of production, will create a very good tourism cluster, the Sevastopol winemaker is sure.

Many investors come to the region; there is interest in acquiring land and creating full-cycle winemaking enterprises. At the same time, the main difficulties that businessmen face are the high cost of land and the complexity of its registration.

Also, Shvets points out, it is important for the investor to understand that he will not be left alone with his products. “If you buy an unknown farm, for example, in Bordeaux, the very brand of this territory allows you to believe that you will be able to sell the products and return your investment. People drink wines based on the name of the wine-growing region, so a regional brand is very important,” he explains and adds that work in this direction has begun in the Russian Federation.

Recently, legislation began to allow the creation of such designations of wines by origin. In addition to purely legal aspects, Shvets emphasizes, some time must pass before consumers understand that high-quality products are produced under one or another Russian brand, and begin to recognize and trust this brand.

Million dollar prospects

Today, Crimea is visited by about 5 million people, but if infrastructure and logistics issues are resolved and the boundaries of the season are expanded, then within 12 months the peninsula will be able to receive up to 7 million tourists, and this is not the limit, Babasyan is sure.

“Water parks, dolphinariums, oceanariums, indoor amusement parks for children, sports facilities, a congress center and other all-season infrastructure will provide about 50% of the tourist flow, and medicine can bring another 35%. Wine theme parks and valleys - another 5-10%, and then there are small factors: hunting grounds, extreme sport etc., each of which can bring 2-3% to the common treasury,” he concludes.

On the way to growth

Participants of the international tourism forum “Open Crimea”, which will be held in Yalta on November 2-3, 2017, plan to look for new points of attraction for tourists and discuss problems in the industry.

At the same time, the minister calls not to forget about the infrastructural factors that hinder the development of tourism. Over the past quarter century, investments in the development of Crimean infrastructure have been virtually absent. “Today a lot is already being done, but there is a large amount of work ahead related to housing and communal services (sewage treatment plants, water pipelines), landscaping, development of the road network and tourism infrastructure,” he emphasizes.

Of course, the Crimean authorities note, investments are required in the development of accommodation bases and the construction of new hotels, the expansion of beach areas (today there are 387 of them) and the improvement of their infrastructure, and the creation of campsites. Automobile tourism could become extremely attractive for the peninsula - there are places to go by car and things to see. This, by the way, distinguishes the peninsula from its neighbor and competitor, the city of Sochi, which, on the contrary, asks vacationers not to come by car due to the high load on the road infrastructure.

It is important that the peninsula understands: infrastructure development does not replace a competent strategy for creating a tourism product. We need to find “our” tourists and create a unique, comprehensive offer for them.

SIMFEROPOL, February 19 - RIA Novosti. Crimea is preparing to host the VI International Tourism Forum "Open Crimea", designed to identify priority points for growth and further development of the peninsula's tourism industry.

Checkpoint for Crimea

The forum will be held from February 20 to 21 as part of the “Tourism Week in Crimea” and will start for the first time in Simferopol with the opening of a tourism exhibition.

"Crimea definitely needs two milestones, two checkpoints: before the start high season and before the start of the health season, that is, the autumn-winter season, which is more devoted to health improvement, cultural tourism, and gastronomy. The Open Crimea forum is intended to become a powerful and serious unifying professional platform. This will be a good start, followed by good season", Vadim Volchenko, Minister of Resorts and Tourism of Crimea, told reporters.

On the first day, leading Russian experts will discuss measures to legalize tourist accommodation and reduce the cost of air travel. The presentation of a new tourist route will take place for the first time" Wine Road Crimea" and the event calendar of the republic.

The second day of the forum will expand its geography. An additional site will open in Yalta. It will be dedicated to government support of tourism. Meanwhile, in the Crimean capital, at the “Beach World” strategic session, methodological recommendations for users of beach areas will be presented and issues of preparing beaches for the upcoming holiday season will be considered.

Questions with a federal accent

Minister Volchenko said that the forum will raise a number of key issues in which the peninsula is counting on federal assistance.

"There are a number of purely Crimean issues and problems. These are the cleanliness of the beaches, the cleanliness resort towns and villages, issues of internal transport logistics, arrangement of embankments and park areas, accessibility of display objects. This is something we are already seriously working on. But there are a number of points at the federal level that go beyond the borders of Crimea. Firstly, the cost of domestic air travel. It is quite high and is a problem for tourist destinations. It is difficult to compete with other tourist destinations if it is quite expensive to get to us. Secondly, the issues of soft legalization of hotels, so that business would be interested in working not in the shadows, but, as they say, working in the light - paying taxes, living in peace and seeing what tax revenues are spent on,” Volchenko said.

It is expected that the forum will be attended by the heads of four leading tour operators in Russia.

“We hope that we will be able to consolidate the hotel, sanatorium and resort business, because tour operators are interested in the year-round occupancy of Crimea. One of the main points is pricing towards its reduction,” the minister emphasized.

Red carpet for the tourist Oscars

At the end of the forum, the annual “Recognition of the Year” event will take place.

“We will reward the winners. This event is our Crimean tourism Oscar. There will be a red carpet. More than 2 million rubles were spent on gifts for the winners through partnerships and sponsorships,” Alexey, head of the Crimean parliament’s committee on health resorts and tourism, told reporters Chernyak.

The favorites of the peninsula’s tourism industry for the past year will be named in 16 categories: “best sanatorium”, “best children’s health resort”, “best health institution”, “best hotel complex”, “best small accommodation facility”, “best tourist enterprise", "best beach", "best doctor in the sanatorium-resort sector", "best mid-level medical worker in the sanatorium-resort sector", "best reception worker", "best maid", "best cook", "best waiter", "best tour guide" ", "best local government employee municipalities in the Republic of Crimea in the field of resorts and tourism" and "special nomination".

In addition, as part of the "Tourism Week in Crimea" study tours will be organized for subjects of the tourism industry and trade union organizations of Russian regions.

Joining Russian Federation Crimea poses new challenges for the country in developing the tourism industry. In this regard, two major events in the field of tourism attract attention: the First All-Russian exhibition and sale of resort and tourism services of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol (Moscow, May 14–16) and the Moscow International Travel Fair “MITF-2014” (Moscow, 15 –May 17). The first event is held with the support of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation and is entirely dedicated to organizing tourism on the peninsula. The second is a major annual Russian tourism exhibition, at which a consolidated stand will be presented “ Black Sea coast Russia" with best offers Crimea and Krasnodar region.

A large delegation of tour operators, representatives of hotels and sanatoriums of the peninsula, headed by the Minister of Resorts and Tourism of the Republic of Crimea Elena Yurchenko, came to Moscow for the opening of a specialized exhibition dedicated to Crimea. The organizers say that in September this year the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of the Russian Federation plans to hold a large-scale presentation of investment projects in Crimea, which, together with the already opened exhibition, will give a powerful impetus to the development of the region.

In conditions of sluggish growth of the world economy, tourism is becoming increasingly important, which has a complex effect on the socio-economic development of the corresponding region. The problem of developing internal tourist destinations becomes especially obvious in the context of the annexation of Crimea to the Russian Federation and the need to ensure the demand for tourism infrastructure remaining after the Olympic Games in Sochi.

The main task at the moment is the integration of Crimea into the Russian tourism system currently being built. The Crimean authorities must coordinate their work with the Ministry of Culture and the Federal Agency for Tourism of the Russian Federation, other departments and integrate into the Federal Program “Development of Culture and Tourism until 2020”. It is important, in close cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, to develop new tourist routes across Crimea, include some of the already existing routes in all-Russian programs, or outline all-Russian routes that would include Crimea. For example, Sevastopol fits perfectly into the route “Cities - Forges of Victory” prepared by the Ministry of Culture of the Russian Federation. It is necessary to analyze all documents and concepts for tourism development developed and adopted in Russia in order to integrate Crimea into all-Russian programs.

An important task is the development of tourism infrastructure in Crimea. It is noteworthy that during a “direct line” with the population on April 17 of this year, V.V. Putin noted that according to Russian sanitary and epidemiological standards, Crimean sanatoriums cannot even be used for living. And according to the Minister of Resorts and Tourism of Crimea, Elena Yurchenko, it is necessary to spend about $500 million on the revival of the tourism infrastructure of the peninsula. This amount is estimated to restore 163 objects of the sanatorium-resort complex, which were nationalized. Most of of them (about 60%) belonged to the ministries of health and defense of Ukraine and are in a dilapidated state. On average, the restoration of each such facility will require $5–6 million. According to Elena Yurchenko, the basic direction in Crimea remains sanatorium and resort recreation. On this moment There are 825 tourist accommodation bases on the peninsula, but only two dozen hotels are “no worse than Turkish or Egyptian” ones, where the all-inclusive system operates.

The annexation of Crimea poses new and difficult challenges for the Russian tourism industry. It was assumed that after the Olympics in Sochi, the center of developed tourism, an exemplary tourist cluster in Russia, will be this city, and it will be possible to switch to it that part of the tourist flow that previously went on vacation abroad. However, after the annexation of Crimea, Russia received another potential center for domestic tourism, which requires significant financial injections. At the same time, given the geopolitical, cultural, historical significance of the peninsula for Russia, as well as the circumstances in which it was annexed to the Russian Federation, one can hope that Crimea will attract the attention of Russian investors and tourists. This is undoubtedly an extremely promising direction for the development of domestic tourism. Crimea should become an important tourist cluster.

The growth of patriotic sentiments in Russian society, due to the successful holding of the Olympic Games and the annexation of Crimea, is a real opportunity to draw the attention of Russians to domestic tourism and recreation “at home”, which is necessary to fill the tourist capacities that appeared thanks to the Olympic and Paralympic Games in Sochi, and to compensate for lost Crimea accounted for 62% of the tourist flow from tourists from Ukraine.

Many Russian tourists who want to visit Crimea are already spoiled by holidays in Turkey, Egypt, Croatia, Bulgaria and other countries popular among Russians mass tourism. It is likely that, in the wake of nostalgic and patriotic sentiments, the first people who will want to go to Crimea are middle-aged and older people in need of sanatorium treatment. However, given the fact that the infrastructure of Crimea cannot yet provide a high level of service for people who have experience holidaying abroad, the “first wave” of tourists may remain the “first wave”, followed by a decline in interest in holidays in Crimea. To prevent this from happening, significant efforts are needed to improve the level of service on the peninsula. Another opportunity for the development of tourism in Crimea at the present stage is the organization of recreation programs for an audience less tied to comfort: for youth, student recreation, archaeological expeditions, children's hiking tourism, etc.

Cluster planning carried out by the Russian authorities in the field of tourism development is a serious bid for a great tourism future of the Russian Federation and, accordingly, great financial results. However, there is an inconsistency between the aspirations of business and the state. For example, the Ministry of Culture is doing a lot to make a “leap forward” in the field of tourism development, but at the work level travel companies there is no progress. Travel companies do not have the potential to develop large projects that are thematically complete excursion programs, affecting the historical depths of the country's development. In particular, the school for training guides was destroyed. The development of domestic tourism lags far behind that of outbound tourism.

The Russian authorities in Crimea will have to solve other problems. Before the annexation of Crimea, holidays on the peninsula were 15–20% cheaper than at the resorts of the Russian Krasnodar Territory. However, after the annexation, prices in Crimea will increase. The rise in prices is explained by many factors: the expected significant infrastructure investments, food and water shortages, the transition to Russian ruble, and, to a large extent, inflated market expectations. An important problem for the development of tourism on the peninsula is transport. Before joining Russia, 67% of holidaymakers arrived there by rail.

Despite the above development difficulties tourist complex Russia in general and Crimea in particular, in the long term we can talk about the existence of all the prerequisites for the successful development of tourism in the Russian Federation.

I would like to hope that the annexation of Crimea will spur the development of domestic tourism in Russia, that our country will cease to occupy one of the lowest places in the priority ratings for the development of the tourism industry, and that the authorities and society will see tourism as a promising source of socio-economic development.

In many developed and developing countries, the tourism sector makes a significant contribution to the formation of gross domestic product (GDP), provides employment and has a positive impact on the foreign trade balance. The tourism sector of the economy is important because it essentially runs on renewable resources. According to the World tourist organization UN “on average, to receive income equivalent to that given by one foreign tourist, it is necessary to export approximately 9 tons of coal or 15 tons of oil, or 2 tons of high-grade wheat to the world market. At the same time, the sale of raw materials depletes the country’s natural resources.” Compared to other sectors of the economy, tourism has the greatest multiplier effect, directly or indirectly influencing 32 sectors of the economy, creating every 9th job in global production.

Ten largest countries by cost

for international tourism (2011–2012)

	Expenditure on international tourism in billions of US dollars	Market share in %	Population in million people	Cost per capita in US dollars
				Cost per capita in US dollars

Germany

Great Britain
Russia



Australia

The tourism industry generates direct income. However, at the same time, spending on it permeates other sectors of the economy, promoting not only direct but also indirect employment. Tourism stimulates the development of small and medium-sized businesses, the development of handicraft and handicraft industries, agriculture, contributes to the expansion of the market for consumer goods and services, and spurs the development of regions that in other conditions could not count on the creation of a different trade and industrial base.

The emphasis of economic policy on infrastructure projects and stimulating domestic demand allows not only to mitigate the consequences of the global economic crisis, but also to raise a sense of pride in the country and patriotism in society - people’s awareness of the fact that spending money in their country and at the same time getting to know it is a patriotic act .

The development of domestic tourism is of particular relevance for countries where there are well-established traditions of spending holidays abroad (the Russian Federation is one of these countries). In conditions of economic recession, switching tourist flows going abroad to domestic destinations. A significant part of the total flow of tourists is looking abroad for those services and experiences that, under certain conditions, can easily be obtained in their own countries. It is the work on the development of domestic tourism in such areas that can stimulate economic growth, create new jobs, and partially prevent the export of capital, which occurs, among other things, as a result of tourists traveling abroad.

According to the UN World Tourism Organization, in 2012, Russian tourists spent $42.8 billion abroad, ranking fifth in terms of total funds spent and seventh in terms of per capita spending ($302). These are large funds that could remain within the country, contributing to its good and prosperity. There is hope that in the context of tightening Western sanctions and a general surge in patriotic sentiment in Russian society, the tourism sector will become an important area of economic life in the Russian Federation and, first of all, its integral part - Crimea.

Crimea is comparable to the area of Belgium, and natural resources immeasurably richer. The permanent population of Belgium is 5 times larger. We have not heard any particular complaints about environmental, transport and social problems from the Belgians.
Crimea can, according to scientists, receive 20 million vacationers a year with an average vacation duration of 15 days. But right now it cannot accept even 7 million with an average rest period of 7-10 days. The question is different - while there is no concept for the development of the entire Crimea for 2020-2030, ideas and proposals, there is no point in discussing the master plans of Simferopol, Yalta, Sevastopol and other cities.

It is clear that in the 2019 season, with the commissioning of the Kerch transport crossing (bridge plus tunnel) and the Tavrida federal highway, the traffic load will increase by 5-10 times. And Simferopol is already suffocating in traffic jams.

So far, a diagram of the main decisions for discussion

Port of Salgir in the center of the Arabat Spit, this is the closest point for connecting the railways and highways of Crimea with the waterways of the Russian Federation, including Moscow, and with Federal highway Don.

Cellular development scheme transport system Crimea. Developed by Igor Rusanov based on projects from the turn of the 1970s-80s of the KrymNIIproekt Institute, the All-Union Scientific Program RESORT and his own scientific research from the 1980s to 2015.

Azov Gate of Crimea - Salgir Port and New seaside resort Salgirsky in the center of the Arabat Spit, Nizhnegorsky district. Railway along the Salgir River: Port Salgir, Nizhnegorsky, Oktyabrskoye.
Decentralization of economy, culture and tourism. Unloading Simferopol, backup of the capital Gvardeiskoe. Development of local clusters of small and medium-sized businesses along several ancient cultural corridors.

Cartographic materials for pre-design studies and feasibility studies (feasibility studies) passenger traffic and transportation of auto tourists to Crimea, we discuss, share useful links.
Gallery LOGISTICS. Ferry line across the Sea of Azov: Rostov region - Crimea

Some structural solutions for year-round operation Crimean resorts .
1. In sanatoriums and rest homes with treatment, some of the buildings should be repurposed as boarding houses for veterans. Permanent residence of elderly people as in nursing homes, but with qualitatively better household and cultural conditions, a developed spa treatment base, parks and sports facilities, and opportunities to receive relatives.
Veterans' boarding houses can range from charitable to elite.

2. Sports boarding schools and Olympic bases of Crimea in common system The Russian Federation can combine constant workload with training camps, competitions, festivals, master classes and other events during the holidays.

3. Sanatorium boarding schools, children's centers (kindergarten-school), lyceums of various profiles from artistic to scientific and technical, as well as sports centers, can combine a permanent and rotating contingent of children.

4. Holiday villages, towns for freelancers and shift workers near coastal airfields that are not currently in use. Something developing the lifestyle of Soviet academic towns and the American Silicon Valley. Not just summer cottages or cottages, but an extensive infrastructure for conferences, sports, and recreation.

5. In-depth development for all Crimean resorts according to general principle "sea - mountains - city": creation of centers active tourism, which in summer season will serve vacationers, and from autumn to spring the local urban population.

Transportation difficulties

Development transport accessibility Crimea is one of the main tasks. Along with the existing water and road communications (Kerch ferry) and air (Simferopol airport), it is planned to open Kerch Bridge by 2019 and the launch of the Tavrida federal highway by 2018.

Railway communication is a constructor from a trip to Krasnodar or Anapa, and then using the "Single Ticket" (in " Single ticket"includes: transfer to the port "Caucasus", ferry crossing, subsequent bus ride through the territory of Crimea - to Simferopol).

There is no railway connection with other cities of Russia and Ukraine.

Support for the authorities

The development of tourism in the Republic of Crimea is supported by the government of the Russian Federation through targeted programs with a focus on the integrated development of tourist territories of the Republic of Crimea, the creation tourism products, methodological support and training, as well as marketing and image policy, in particular, through the program “Socio-economic development of the Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol until 2020”.

Who is going to Crimea

Today people go to Crimea for cultural, educational, children's recreation, for active and sanatorium-resort spending time, and of course on eventful occasions.

After the annexation of the Republic of Crimea to Russia in 2014, there was a reorientation of the tourist flow, and now the main tourists are Russian citizens (86%).

The number of tourists in 2014 decreased by 2 times, but already in 2015 there was an increase in tourist flow by more than 2 times. At the end of July 2016, Crimea was visited by 2.672 million tourists, which is 26.2% higher than the same figure in 2015.

According to forecasts, about 5.1 million tourists will visit Crimea in 2016. More than half of vacationers are accommodated in the “private” sector.

In general, the “capacity” of Crimea ranges from 8 to 10 million tourists per year.

Portrait of the main consumer of tourism services in Crimea: these are solvent tourists of the economy and comfort segments, interested in medical, recreational, sea and cultural-educational tours in Crimea. About 30% of them arrive in their own cars.

On average, they travel for 11 days; they prefer to see 3-4 tourist destinations in Crimea during this period.

The main tourist flow consists of residents of Moscow and St. Petersburg, followed by guests from Yekaterinburg, Rostov-on-Don, and Perm. Residents of Crimea, in particular Simferopol, also come to the coast for weekends in the off-season. Residents of Ukraine make up no more than 10% of the tourist flow. The flow from Moscow and St. Petersburg, according to hoteliers, is about 60%.

Seasonality of the peninsula

The demand of Crimea has a pronounced seasonality with peaks in the period June-August, which is a reflection of the seasonality of travel of recreational tourists and natural features region (for example, the warmth of the sea and air). Demand also increases during the New Year and May holidays. For business tourists coming on a business trip and for MICE tourism, interest in Crimea is typical during the off-season, but it is still too small.

Some of the collective accommodation facilities in Crimea are closed during the low season and operate from early May to mid-September - this is about 37% of the total supply of accommodation on the peninsula.

The average occupancy of hospitality facilities operating all year round ranges from 38% to 57% per year, the category of departmental sanatoriums shows the best results - 68-82% of occupancy. The average occupancy of sanatoriums and hotels throughout the Republic of Crimea by July 2016 was 74%.

Who is stronger: south, west or east

Since the beginning of the year, 40% of all tourists arriving in Crimea have vacationed at the resorts of the Southern Coast of Crimea, West coast Crimea – 39%, on East Coast Crimea – 17.5%, in other regions – 3.5%.

Hotel offer and future prospects

Where to live

Large hotel facilities in the Republic of Crimea, to which Russian tourists are accustomed, with a capacity of more than 50 rooms, are located on the most popular resorts(South Coast, Feodosia region, Kerch, Sudak, Saki). These are 127 objects with a total capacity of 20,355 rooms. The specified volume includes: hotels (56 objects), sanatoriums (36 objects), boarding houses (34 objects), recreation center (1 object).

The room capacity is 40,710 people excluding additional beds.

There are no hotels managed by international brands on the territory of the Republic of Crimea. After the annexation of the Republic of Crimea to Russia in 2014, all international hotel companies left the market.

As an alternative to the hotel accommodation format, about 6,000 apartments, 1,300 rooms and 3,300 houses are offered on the market. Crimea is rich in recreational opportunities for campers, including an actively developing offer of car camping. The most famous campsite Chaban-Kale is located near Cape Agira.

How much is Crimea by weight?

Crimea has been actively attracting tourists for the third season Russian tourists to your beaches. Popularity of resorts South Bank Crimea, affordable prices, as well as the active development of infrastructure in general - this is what brings tourists back here again and attracts new ones.

The cost of a vacation for two adults and one child when choosing a 3* hotel with 3 meals a day for 14 days will cost an average of 140,500 rubles in August, 4* - 180,000 rubles, 5* - 370,700 rubles. The average vacation time is 8-15 days; there are almost no tourists coming for 2-3 days.

The price difference in hotels in the resort Crimea varies greatly depending on the season; the price for high August exceeds low March or October by almost 70-100%. Thus, hotel accommodation at the beginning of the season starts from 2,200 rubles per room per night with breakfast in a 3-star hotel.

At the same time, accommodation in apartments and rooms is sold on hostel terms from 450 rubles per day per person, even in high season.

"All inclusive" in Crimea

Crimean hotels are leaders in the Russian resort market in offering hotels in the All-Inclusive format. In each of the resorts, tourists have the opportunity to choose this familiar type of holiday - about 70% of hotels offer services " full board"or "all inclusive". Additionally, Crimean hotels have introduced the Day Pass service (day stay) - it allows you to use the entire hotel infrastructure without checking into it.

Openings 2015-2016

Ethnocenter "Slavic Village" in Bakhchasaray (formerly called "Native Village") (2016)
Cinema park "Viking" on the road from Simferopol to Alushta (2016)
Club hotel LEXX in Koktebel (2015)
New buildings of the Yalta-Intourist Hotel (2015)
New rooms in resort hotel"Palmyra Palace" in Yalta (2015)
Hotel and water park "Atlantis" in Yalta
The second stage of attractions in Evpatoria in the water park "Banana Republic" (2015)
Art hotel "Azor" in Livadia, operating on an all-inclusive basis (2016)

Declared hotel properties

Factors influencing the increase/decrease in tourism demand

Construction of a bridge across the Kerch Strait.
Expansion and reconstruction of passenger terminals at Simferopol airport.
Launch of the airport in Sevastopol.
Opening of tourist destinations: Türkiye and Egypt. Fluctuations in the dollar and euro exchange rates.
The work of the Ministry of Resorts and Tourism of Crimea to create a positive image of the region.
There are restrictions for certain categories of Russian citizens on traveling outside the country.
Conflict territory: non-recognition of Crimea and the presence of sanctions from outside European countries.
Absence from the market international companies(including banks, hotel operators).
Flexibility of tour operators.
Development of entertainment infrastructure.
Prices for accommodation/food/entertainment are lower compared to resorts in the Krasnodar region.
Subsidized transportation organized by the Russian government.
Increasing ferry crossing capacity.
Liberalization visa regime with a number of European countries (Bulgaria, Greece).

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