As of October 27, 4.93 million tourists have vacationed on the Crimean Peninsula since the beginning of the year. This represents a 200,000-plus difference compared to the same period in the record-breaking 2016 (less than 41,000 tourists compared to last year's tourist flow). This was announced at a press conference by the head of the Federal Oleg Safonov, head of the tourism agency, noted that the 2017 peak tourist season was a success in Crimea.
At the same time, the republic's leadership plans to achieve last year's figures through health and wellness and event tourism.
The share of organized tourists amounted to 22.8%. This is approximately the same as last year (22.4%), but higher than the year before (20.8%).
Direct tax revenues from the tourism industry to the Crimean budget for January-September 2017 increased by 8.3%.
At the press conference, it was also noted that this year in Crimea, more than 50 accommodation facilities have undergone modernization, 6 new hotels have been opened, and 104 accommodation facilities have been classified.
In addition, a new model for beach use was introduced, providing businesses with the opportunity to invest in infrastructure development and services, as well as beach improvements.
In 2017, 4 new excursion routes and 6 tourist attractions were opened.
Since July 2017, tourists have been able to purchase the "Crimea and Sevastopol Guest Card"—a single electronic ticket developed using a loyalty system that includes admission to museums, sightseeing tours, leisure and entertainment venues, hotel accommodations, and public transportation. Over 200 businesses in Crimea and Sevastopol have partnered with the project. Overall savings for visitors can reach 50 percent.
Oleg Safonov also noted the promising direction of developing Crimea as a year-round tourist destination and ensuring the peninsula's tourism and recreational infrastructure is fully utilized during the off-season.
"In light of Crimea's plans to attract additional tourism during the autumn and winter, a pressing task for the region is to implement initiatives aimed at enhancing tourist appeal during the off-season and effectively utilizing existing tourism and recreational opportunities. In this regard, significant attention should be paid to the implementation of the federal project "Affordable Travel" on the peninsula and leveraging the potential of the Crimean health resort industry. It is necessary to create a pool of sanatoriums and boarding houses offering treatment services that are capable and willing to offer wellness and treatment services at significant discounts during the off-season, and to unite them within the framework of a national marketing program, provisionally called "Crimean Health Resort." This measure will, on the one hand, create additional opportunities for affordable wellness vacations during the off-season for Russians at leading sanatoriums, boarding houses, and hospitals. On the other hand, it will open up new opportunities for the health resorts themselves in terms of attracting additional tourism and increasing economic efficiency," the head of Rostourism noted.
Incidentally, Crimea could use the experience of the Krasnodar Territory in this regard, where, in accordance with a similar program, 40 health resort organizations are offering discounts ranging from 5 to 50% from October 2017 to April 2018.
Oleg Safonov emphasized the importance of Crimea's early preparation for the 2018 peak summer season and prioritized the quality and affordability of vacations on the peninsula.
"We need to work with hotel, sanatorium, and boarding house operators to develop and implement pricing policies that take market conditions into account. Where possible, administrative support should be provided to minimize any potential for rising accommodation prices in Crimea. We need to encourage them to improve the quality of service for tourists and introduce popular service formats, including the all-inclusive system," said Oleg Safonov.
To ensure that all these measures are systemic, the Head of Rostourism proposed that the region develop a comprehensive plan to improve competitiveness.
Source: trn-news.ru