The PCT warned about almost 100% occupancy of family hotels on the Black Sea coast

Popular family hotels and resorts in resorts on the Black Sea coast are almost 100% booked for the first half of the summer. About it told President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT) Ilya Umansky in a commentary RBC.

According to the PCT, pre-bookings for the summer are already 10-15% higher than in 2022, demand for hotels in the middle price segment has increased, but interest in five-star hotels has decreased by 5%. Dmitry Bogdanov, Chairman of the Expert Council of the Association of Hoteliers AMOS, notes that up to 80% of properties in Sochi are now booked for the summer, and there are no places at all in some four- and five-star segment properties for many dates.

The most popular resorts for Russians this summer are the resorts of the Krasnodar Territory, the Caucasian Mineral Waters, Abkhazia and Crimea, the head of the PCT noted.

The growth in Russian demand for domestic resorts is due to high pent-up demand due to covid restrictions, said Maya Lomidze, executive director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (APR). According to Bogdanov, there are actually few such tourists, and the demand for inexpensive hotels by the sea is rather caused by the low budget of Russians due to rising prices, in particular in Turkish destinations.

At the same time, hotels in Crimea are booked for the summer by 20-30% compared to 30-40% in May last year, and the occupancy of mini-hotels and hostels decreased by 20%, to 30%. In 2022, the tourist flow due to logistical problems decreased by 25% compared to 2021.

How told Umansky “Izvestia”, many hotels in the Crimea against the backdrop of falling demand have reduced prices by 20-30%. The PCT also told the publication that the hotels of the peninsula “survive” at the expense of local residents traveling around Crimea on holidays and weekends. Against this background, the Russian government will allocate 2.7 billion rubles to support the Crimean tourism industry, such a draft resolution was prepared by the Ministry of Economy, Izvestia notes.

In March, Umansky predicted an increase in tourist flow in Russia up to 10% compared to last year, abroad – by 25-30%. According to him, the dynamics of the tourist flow in Russia in 2023 will be determined by the availability of transportation and the availability of hotel infrastructure, the volume of which, according to Umansky, is growing every year.