11/08/2019 17:01

The Crimea needs better class hotels

[IMG=18019-3413] Alexander Taryanik, the Minister of tourism and resorts, announced the necessity for large international hotel networks – such as Hilton, Mariott, Kempinski, Le Meridien – in the republic. According to him, the underdeveloped system of hotel services decreases the number of holiday-makers on the peninsula. Compared to Soviet times when Crimea welcomed 10 million people a year, today this number fell to 6 million. A part of Russian tourists was ‘stolen’ by Turkey. However, the Crimea cannot handle even this small number of holiday-makers, because of the underdeveloped hotel infrastructure. ‘This hot issue came up a long time ago,’ says Alexander Grishin, a travel specialist of ‘Orphey’ company. ‘There are only ‘Ariadna’ and ‘Intourist’ in Yalta.’ However, as a BANKO journalist found out, the issue did not shift, it ended in talks. The Crimean Ministry of tourism said that negotiations with international hotel networks have not been conducted yet. Administration of the region still discusses the budget, by the end of the year the general plan of hotel development on the peninsula is expected to have been approved. The plan shall consider the characteristics and seasonality of the Crimean resorts. ‘The coastline from Alushta to Sudak is popular with middle class holiday-makers,’ says Igor Kotlyar, head of tourism administration of the Ministry of the Crimea. ‘It needs hotels of a relevant class, yet infrastructure, for instance, does not need several water parks. In turn, Yalta has always been popular with wealthy holiday-makers and therefore, it lacks hotels of a higher class – 4-5*’. Mr. Kotlyar believes that while the general plan is being developed, Ukraine will think of an attractive investment climate. According to operators, at present the hotel infrastructure of Crimea is lagging behind Krasnodar region by 5-6 years, whilst it is behind Bulgaria by 7-8 years and is beaten by 50 years by the world’s leading resorts. Sergey Romashkin, Director General of Dolphin company, offers: ‘Western capital will eventually come to Ukraine if there is not a revolution or economic devastation. How soon? As soon as investors start feeling safe. As long as there is still property redistribution, they will not invest any money in such a ‘hot’ land.’