The hotelier told PolitNavigator about the reasons that drove Russian tourists to Crimea
Expensive holidays in Sochi, closed borders, psychological adaptation to war and delayed expectations for the resumption of air traffic are the main factors that have intensified the early booking campaign for summer holidays in Crimea this year. While sales are going slowly, giving a gradual and steady increase for the first half of the summer, and postponing decisions until the peak of the season, they are not looking that far with vacation plans now.
The regional head of the hotel management company Upro Group, Ekaterina Milchinskaya, told PolitNavigator about this.
“The main trend of this year is an increase in booking depth and a surge in early bookings. In our case, the cheapest and most expensive room categories are purchased. In fact, the guests waited for two years for the planes to fly, but they realized that they would not fly. And Crimea is waiting for them, with delivery logistics already in place, with service, with the prices that exist. Therefore, sales are growing.
We compare specifically by date, and so far the average growth rate is 3%. But these are more expensive armors, and this summer for sure. Right now June and early July are well booked, but August is still slow. We first set the lowest prices, then raised them, and then looked at our competitors and lowered them. And when we lowered it a little, we started to see a surge in bookings. Now summer is sold by about 20%, June and the first half of July are more,” she noted.
Last summer, Crimea won due to the large difference in the price of holidays compared to Sochi, where the main tourist flow went, and the price tag was raised. This year, holidays at resorts in the Krasnodar Territory have already risen in price by 20%; prices in Crimea are still being kept down, expecting demand during the high season.
“I think that we will definitely be worth less than Sochi. But compared to last year, we will rise. Right now, the summer occupancy rate of 15-20% does not yet make it possible to raise prices for the remaining block of rooms. A room in the “standard” category costs 10 rubles in the first half of June, 500 in the second. In July it is already selling for 14 – 000, in August it will rise to 15 rubles. The September price is now 500 rubles per day.
A presidential suite per day already costs 75 thousand with a minimum stay of 5 nights, and for one night 81 thousand. And the rooms of this category are already closed for the summer,” Milchinskaya emphasized.
Contrary to popular belief, high category rooms are mainly booked by couples with children. And for a long time.
“There is a feeling that family tourists are returning to us. There has been a psychological adaptation to war, because something is flying in everywhere, something is exploding. And the guests did not go to Crimea for one year, but for the second year they visited Sochi, where prices are unrealistic. There are a lot of people who don’t travel to fly to Turkey, so they decided to come to us,” the manager explained.
To make the journey easier for tourists, several resort complexes have introduced a paid overnight stay in a transit hotel for those traveling from afar in their own vehicles. Guests pay for a night with breakfast and parking somewhere in the Rostov region to rest and head to Crimea in the morning.
A hotelier told PolitNavigator about the reasons that drove Russian tourists to Crimea.