"You will fly up - the rocket will knock." Tourists are afraid of Kaliningrad

The tourist flow to the Kaliningrad region this year decreased by almost a third. The reason in many ways was a negative information background - the media write about the blockade of the region of Western countries and a lack of products in stores. But, it turns out, everything is not so scary, tourists who nevertheless “took a chance” say and arrived.

In the previous two summer of the pandemic, when state borders were closed, the Kaliningrad region survived a real tourist renaissance. Crowded hotels and beaches, 60 aircraft from Moscow and St. Petersburg a day and two million guests from spring to autumn for two years in a row - not tourists, but simply the "flame of Sauron", they joyfully rubbed their hands on the authorities.

But the take -off was temporary. This year, the flow of tourists decreased by 10-30%, depending on the city, says Olga Teslenko, head of the regional association of the hospitality industry. There are traditionally more people on the coast than in the east of the region, but in general there is a decline everywhere. The reasons are different. This is a general fall in the incomes of the population, and the “causing questions of the rhetoric” of the news agenda.

"Here Europe is nearby, they are afraid to shoot"

The blockade of the region was started in July, when Lithuania banned the transit of cargo to the Kaliningrad region. However, there was no question about food and primary necessity - only about goods that fell under the sanctions of the European Union. These are building materials, wood, alcohol and industrial chemicals based on alcohol and a number of others. Then the Russian authorities called the situation the "economic blockade" of Kaliningrad and threatened the "tough response" of Lithuania and the "overlap of oxygen to the Baltic neighbors."

A month later, it is obvious that there is no blockade. But there are no tourists either.

- We have relatives, especially the old people who do not understand much. And they were very worried about us when we went here. And yesterday friends called and asked what was with food. There they show them in the news that food ends in Kaliningrad. They sincerely worried about whether we had enough food, - Svetlana and Gregory say.

The couple walks on the island of Kant in the very center of Kaliningrad. Here, it seems, thousands of guests - it is completely different that the tourist flow has decreased. Svetlana and Gregory, strictly speaking, are no longer tourists-three weeks ago they moved to Kaliningrad from Komsomolsk-on-Amur. They say that they have not noticed any blockade here, and in the east of the country life is more dangerous.

- We chose a climate. Kaliningrad is a beautiful historical city. There were no concerns. Here Europe is nearby, they are afraid to shoot, suddenly the rocket will fly, ”says Svetlana. - In Komsomolsk, it is worse - there are China and military factories. You simply were not there - there is devastation, no development to children, no infrastructure. Of course, it’s better here.

Tourists from Peter Glory, Maryana and Kostya got out to Kaliningrad spontaneously.

- There was no doubt. The weather is good, prices, by St. Petersburg, Moscow standards, normal. Therefore, literally the day before yesterday we gathered and decided. Quickly, close, and why not. Many say that it’s good here, ”tourists say. - Whoever says about the product blockade, he just knows nothing. We heard about the blockade of the transit of goods. But not food. We decided that there is definitely enough food for us.

And then the guys joke: "If Lithuania suddenly captures Kaliningrad, then it’s good, we will stay here in Europe."

“We are from Germany, came to our parents,” says Victoria. - It was not scary at all. We have social networks, we can chat with people who went here. There were no fears, now there is enough information.

"Not to amber"

There are fewer tourists this season, and they have become more economical, sellers of souvenirs from amber on the island of Kant say.

- Now people prefer to save. The average check is 50-250 rubles, ”says the seller Anastasia. - The decline in tourist flow is very reflected. If earlier people bought something expensive, now the cheapest is now: magnets, talismans, pens. Budget option.

- Previously, silver was well taken, pendants, the paintings are large. Now very rarely. We have everything, but there is no buyer. They save, such an atmosphere in the country, is not for the amber for sure, ”Catherine confirms. - A year ago, when there was a pandemic, tourists simply had nowhere to go. Muscovites, St. Petersburgs, were quite rich. It didn't matter to them how much it costs. Maybe now the borders have opened or they do not like Kaliningrad. But now a completely different contingent of people is coming to the Trochochka, four, simpler. Especially when there were preferential cheap tickets. In general, everything is very bad and sad.

The average check, including souvenir products, fell by about 50%this season. And this hit the adjacent industries, says Olga Teslenko, head of the hospitality industry association.

"The production of cheese, the production of souvenir, the provision of tourist excursion services, rental ... these are food, and snacks, and bath services, and animal feed - because many travelers have come with animals, and we know that they have not yet saved, but even such travelers have become less. This is cosmetics, care products, entertainment ..." - Teslenko lists Teslenko. injured manufacturers.

The decline in the tourism sector was noticeable in the spring, says Kaliningrad Alexander Marchenko. She arranges entertainment events, and also conducts copyright excursions for visitors.

- In the spring, guides sat without work for weeks. And now the load of guides and hotels is not at all the same as it was before. We see a similar situation with a catering, which was opened on a huge stream of tourists, ”said Alexandra. - There are certain dates when it is really difficult to find a free guide or hotel, which affects the price. But if last year it was the norm for the entire high season, now you can easily choose something.

The peculiarity of this season is spontaneous reservation. Russians plan trips in a couple of weeks, and not in a month or two, as before. And someone completely refuses the trip.

- There were many refusals for this summer. Some were simply disappointed with the Kaliningrad infrastructure, imagining that the entire coast was dotted with night clubs with open pools. Others even refused to pay and reservations simply because it is “scary to fly”, planes, they say, are not served properly now, and suddenly that, and from here they can’t get out of here, ”she says. - But it is important to note that those hotels and guides who really provide a good level of services have the demand for the summer still holds at the level, those who counted on mass and cross -country are stronger than everyone.

Hope rents three small attic apartments in old German houses. Everything is authentic here - brick, tiles, terraces, and Russian tourists always liked it, Nadezhda says. But this year everything has changed.

- They began to book not in advance, but a day a day. It is believed that some sudden changes can happen-after all, Lithuania, Poland is nearby. Some wrote in May: we plan to come, but let's go through Victory Day, it is not known whether the planes will fly, ”she says. - In June, all three attices were free. When there are three empty ones, in the midst of the season, of course, I have a panic. I raise or reduce prices, I am at a loss. Now people have gone. But these are mostly young people. The elderly are afraid to spend money. What if that, they will not be able to fly away later. How is they back? Ferry? (A ticket for passenger trains to Moscow and St. Petersburg are sold only if there is a passport.-SR). And people are coming now. If earlier they looked at the photographs, now they are looking at the price. Cheap - let's go.

Last year, housing could be rented 20-25% more expensive, Nadezhda says. On average, a small apartment in Kaliningrad cost 2-3 thousand per day, now you can find 1800 and cheaper. “I handed over 1300 and 1100 in May. And this is almost the price of a hostel,” says the hostess of the attic.

The market was supplied with offices of the daily lease. Many options remain unclaimed. The problem was the closure of the usual reservation sites in Russia - Booking and Airbnb.

- Now Russian programmers are promoting their sites that work stupidly, people are at a loss. Everyone is at a loss, they somehow find customers,-hope laminals. - People are looking for housing on Avito, there are all rabble, many scammers who lay out non -existent apartments.

"The world has closed for us"

In the Pandemia for Kaliningrad there was a fantastic demand among Russians. Tourists were traveling to the clean sea, a soft climate, and high -quality infrastructure, which appeared largely and after the World Cup in 2018. Now people are afraid of instability, including financial.

- Many do not see their prosperity in the future, so they cancel trips. Kaliningrad is a very expensive city, ”says Mikhail Drutman, head of the Baltma Tours travel agency. -[Due to the international situation] the corporate market is very suffering, there are constant abolitions, which is associated with the great departure of all foreign from Russia. The main customer of corporate events, trips - companies with foreign capital, ITSHNIKS, FARMA, there is now a scatter and stagger, as elsewhere, not only in tourism.

In the pandemic, traveling companies engaged in outdoor tourism were reoriented to the domestic one. Now the pandemic is over, but the abroad for Russia is still closed. And that means what the representatives of the Trevt Industry have been waiting for years-returning to free work in Europe-again did not happen.

- What will happen next, I do not know. Now the world has closed for us. Not in full, there are also desired directions-to where there are some opportunities to fly away and pay. While we can still fly out of Vilnius Airport, Riga to Europe, those who have old visas. But everything has become fantastically expensive, this is another problem. In tourism, aviation sanctions were the first to hit the pandemic. We experience these sanctions daily, hourly, every minute. Trevel is not easy, ”said Drutman. - Our activity decreased not just at times, but many times. Our company worked with a foreign market in large volume. We lost the entire cruise market, which has already resumed in other countries. For us this is a difficult time, we try to survive.

Now many travel agencies in the region have reduced their volumes, and someone has closed. Perhaps tourists will now prefer more budget recreation options, but not everyone will like it,

- I have been doing tourism for 40 years. They will ride - there is no life without travel. You can sit on a bicycle and have a great time. But it is not easy, taking off from the cosmodrome, to sit on the wagon, ”Drutman summarizes.

"Poles with machine guns do not run"

The picture changed dramatically not only in tourism - internal migration fell. Two years of the Pandemia led to a jump in real estate prices: the Russians, coming to Kaliningrad, literally fell in love with the city and quickly decided to buy housing and moving. Now people are afraid not only to relax, but also to buy real estate in Kaliningrad.

“I don’t know where these rumors come from.” It gets to the funny: we fly from Yekaterinburg, the woman sits nearby, says: "The children told me, do not fly, otherwise you will fly to Kaliningrad, the rocket will be hit. And they say that you have nothing in the stores." Somewhere, our colleagues-rieltors from other regions add oils into the fire. People choose: Krasnodar or Kaliningrad. And it is clear that the realtors say: "What are you, Kaliningrad! Now it is dangerous there!" Competitive struggle. And in the yellow press these horror stories skip. I hope that by the end of the summer this information background is emerging, ”says Oleg Perevalov, president of the Kaliningrad realtor guild.

According to him, due to the "toxic background", which affects the housing market, the Kaliningrad region was most affected by the sale of real estate. The transactions just got up.

-In April-May there was a general stagnation in Russia, people waited, did not buy anything. In early June, they began to look at transactions. And then in June again this information about the blockade appeared in the media, and the buyers said: wait, let's see what will happen, ”the expert says. - In Russia, the market is alive than ours. Moscow, Peter - a drop in the volume of transactions by half, in Sochi - by 20%. And in Kaliningrad the numbers - your hair will stand on end now: for developers in sales, failure ten times, 20-30 times compared to last year! Now transactions are mostly going with a finished product - apartments with decoration, furniture. All semi -finished products, "gray key" (for finishing. - SR) , apartments in old houses are not sold. On the secondary, the market sank 7-10 times.

A third of the realtors have already lost their work, the industry employees say. On the market now the king is a buyer who has the opportunity to wait and choose the best offer. However, the market begins to come to life a little.

- Those tourists who come, then in Russia they say that everything is normal here. And there is food, and the Poles do not go with machine guns, ”says Perevalov. - If there is no deterioration in the information background, then there will be a turn towards sales. In general, all hope for tourists.