Obscene booking: ATOR warned of a shortage of hotels for the whole summer

The South of Russia records an increase in demand for recreation among Russians and hopes for record figures compared to previous years, “Izvestia” was informed in the relevant departments of the regions. In particular, in the Krasnodar Territory noted that in January-March they received 15% more touriststhan in the same period in 2020. In the summer, they are going to serve more than 10 million guests instead of 6.2 million a year earlier.… In Crimea, they also emphasized an increase in the indicator by 20% from the “record” figures of 2019 and predicted further growth… The Rostov region is not yet ready to make forecasts, but they note that the demand for recreation in the region has increased by 15% compared to the pre-pandemic period. The growth in the number of bookings was also announced in the Stavropol Territory. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) expects that Russians will reorient themselves to domestic resorts, but emphasize that comfortable hotels may not be enough for everyone…

Upward movement

Russian resort regions predict an increase in the number of tourists in 2021 compared to previous years. So, Krasnodar Territory is already preparing for the “high season”, since this year it starts on May 1… In the first three months of the year, the region has already received 1.7 million people, which is 15% higher than in the same period of 2020, the Ministry of Resorts, Tourism and Olympic Heritage noted.

– In 2020, for three summer months, the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory received more than 6.2 million tourists. In the 2021 season, we can expect an increase. Taking into account the opinions of tour operators and hoteliers, we predict that this year, from May to September, the resorts of our region will receive more than 10 million guests., – added there.

The ministry also noted that the region is ready to receive tourists from all over the country, including those who were planning a vacation in Turkey. The region has “significant reserves for receiving guests”, but already now there is an increased demand for hotels of 4 and 5 stars… In this regard, most of these hotels have suspended sales from June 15 to August 20. At the same time, the situation with the placements of the middle price segment is more stable, the ministry added.

In Crimea, there is an increase in the cost of rooms in 4 and 5-star hotels on the southern coast of the peninsula, which is due to both a shortage of free placesand the lack of premium segment accommodation facilities.

At the same time, they believe that they can meet the needs of all interested tourists. The ministry stressed that the resorts of the peninsula even have a small “reserve” for the May holidays – in the “premium” segment the booking level reaches 90-95%, and in the “economy” there is still an opportunity to come to rest – practically throughout the Crimea, the level of workload is about 60%.

– The number of tourists who have rested on the peninsula since the beginning of the year is already 20% higher than the indicators of 2019, which is recognized as a record for the entire post-Soviet period. In 2020, there were 6.3 million tourists, which is more than 1 million less than in 2019, when there were 7.4 million tourists in Crimea. We have not yet felt a surge, but there will be some increase in tourist flow, – the Ministry of Resorts and Tourism of the Republic of Crimea told Izvestia.

They added that today the level of booking accommodation facilities for May-June 2021 is 80%.

Prohibition on benefit

Optimistic for the summer season and in the Rostov region, where they remembered the successful accommodation of all interested tourists during the 2018 FIFA World Cup. They stressed that, given the unstable situation with the coronavirus, it is not yet possible to predict indicators for 2021, however, they cited positive statistics at the beginning of this year. The demand for recreation in the region compared to the pre-pandemic period increased by 15%, the Ministry of Economic Development of the Rostov Region told Izvestia. The Ministry of Tourism and Health Resorts of the Stavropol Territory said that over the past month, the number of bookings increased by 50%…

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Tatyana Golikova announced that from April 15 to June 1, Russia will suspend regular flights and charter flights to Turkey, as well as air traffic with Tanzania. This decision was made due to the worsening epidemiological situation in these countries. “If the situation stabilizes, then we will promptly inform our citizens so that they have the opportunity to buy tours to these countries,” said Tatiana Golikova.

ATOR Izvestia was told that Russians are reorienting themselves to Russian resorts and this will lead to increased demand for hotels of 3 to 5 stars…

– This year, people who are accustomed to a comfortable stay in good hotels will go to domestic resorts. The main demand will go to them, but the capacity of this category in the south of Russia is not high enough, therefore demand will definitely exceed supply, – said the vice-president of the association Alexander Kurnosov.

He emphasized that about 6-7 million people visited Turkey in 2019, the tourist flow to Tanzania was incomparably less. Izvestia sent a request to Rosturizm.

On April 21, during his address to the Federal Assembly, Vladimir Putin announced the launch of a hospitality lending program at 3-5%… The total cost of the national project is estimated at 1 trillion rubles, of which a little less than a third is investments from budgets of different levels, the rest is private money. Also the president proposed to extend the partial refund program until the end of the year for tourist vouchers.