Krasnodar, 27 Мay. The Association of Russian Travel Agencies has stated the decline of the number of early bookings at southern Russian resorts.
Recently, the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency announced the prolongation of the flight restraint mode in a number of southern Russian airports until 25 May. Following it, the travel agencies have recorded an outbreak of cancellations of reservations. Sochi and Abkhazia suffered; Anapa and Gelendzhik were affected more. Also, while Anapa still can be reached via the railway, the only ways to get to Gelendzhik are by bus or by car. The problem is that the airports in Rostov-on-Don and Krasnodar were hubs used by many tourists heading for the Black Sea resorts, travel agencies say.
“The shutdown of these airports has also affected such international links as Turkey, Egypt, the UAE and Cyprus,” says Milana Barsegian, owner of the Milana Tour Agency. “The flights to Cyprus were cancelled due to the sanctions. The only way to fly is via Istanbul. Tourists may still fly to Turkey and Egypt from Sochi, but the prices have doubled. Earlier, a weekly ‘all-inclusive’ tour from Sochi to Turkey cost 15,000 to 18,000 roubles per person; now the price is 35,000 to 40,000 roubles. Any flight to Asia are available from Moscow only.”
Milana Barsegian said that the prices soared up because all major air companies were struck by sanctions, so tourists are now flying in smaller Russian-made aircraft, Sukhoi Superjet 100. Its capacity varies between 87 and 100 passengers. In Gelendzhik and Anapa, the hoteliers still “do not understand what is going on.”
“We do not have understanding or information about the decisions taken by the authorities,” Igor Ogurtsov, Alean Family Resort & Spa Doville 5* Manager, comments. “Planes stopped flying, it is understood. But what actions were taken to somehow compensate for the fallen link? It is not I as an hotelier should ask the Russian Railways to increase the number of Lastochka [rapid trains] between Adler and Anapa – it is the regional authorities who should be tolling alarm bells! Because the current situation threatens that the regional budget would become short of taxes. The situation is acute along the entire seaside. The municipal budgets would be short of the resort fee.” According to Igor Ogurtsov, the occupancy of the hotels was just 10 to 15 per cent during the long holidays in early May. That was an unprecedented phenomenon. No tourists came from far regions. Most of the holidaymakers were from the Rostov and Stavropol regions, plus local dwellers.
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