Tour Operators Association of Russia: tourist flow in Crimea decreased by 50%

Following the summer season of 2022, the tourist flow to peninsula Crimea has decreased in half, said Vice President of the Tour Operators Association of Russia, Sergey Romashkin. According to him, the low final outcome is not connected to the air defence being activated.

“Even the last events in Novofedorivka and under Dzhankoy (explosions in the military airport and the ammunition depot — editor’s note) can’t radically worsen the situation seeing as 90% of tourists have already gone on a vacation or are currently vacationing. The season is coming to an end, so the final figures have been calculated, and the tourist flow has decreased in half,” the news agency Prime cites the words of the vice president.

He clarified that 95% of tourists arrived in Crimea by personal transport, 5% — by train. Last year, 60-62% of tourists came to the peninsula by car, while the rest flew in.

According to the association, the tourist flow to Anapa has decreased by 10-12%, to Sochi — by 2-3%. Additionally, demand for Dagestan and Abkhazia has increased by 40% and 10% respectively. The tourist flow to Moscow, Kazan, and Saint Petersburg has remained on last year’s level.

“One would think that Sochi would be the biggest gainer in this situation seeing as its airport was functional, but according to the data from the last seven months, it has lost 2-3% of the number of tourists compared to 2019. Moreover, the maximum price increase was recorded there — on average, a 15% increase. Anapa became 7% more expensive, while Crimea remained in the same price range seeing as it was trying to attract tourists,” Romashkin added.

On 9 August, explosions were heard in the area of the Novofedorivka village in Crimea. The village is home to Russia’s Saki Air Base. According to the Russian authorities, 13 people were injured, two children among them, and one person was killed.

After the start of the war, the EU and US closed their airspace to Russian planes. In response, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency banned 36 countries, including Canada and EU countries, from flying above Russia without a special permission.

Additionally, a decision was made to restrict flights in 11 airports of the southern and central parts of Russia. Currently, these are the airports of Anapa, Belgorod, Bryansk, Voronezh, Gelendzhik, Krasnodar, Kursk, Lipetsk, Rostov-on-Don, Simferopol, and Elista. The flights are restricted until 23 August, but the Federal Air Transport Agency regularly extends restrictions.