Odessa is ready to wrap up the tourist season

It had been cool in Odesa for a few days, then the warm weather returned, but the tourist season—which usually ends in late September or early October—was drawing to a close. 

An Intenta correspondent walked along the coast hoping to speak with the managers of beach establishments—or perhaps with business owners—but they turned out to be surprisingly tight-lipped; some even asked for money in exchange for a comment.

However, the reporter still managed to find out that this year’s prices for beach services, such as lounge chairs, weren’t much higher than last year’s. While last year it cost 200–300 hryvnias to rent a lounge chair, this year the same chairs cost as much as 700 hryvnias; by the end of the season, however, it was possible to find them for as low as 500. Bungalows—starting at 700 hryvnias.

Undeterred vacationers

A beach resort employee named Artem said that despite the increase in air raid alerts this year, tourists aren’t stopping their vacations even in the face of danger. 

“Some people just stay on the beach, but most go to shelters and then come right back as soon as the danger passes,” Artem noted. 

He also emphasized that, despite the danger, vacationers remain in good spirits.  

100,000 tourists

According to the State Agency for Tourism Development, the number of overnight stays subject to the tourist tax increased by 12.7% in the first half of the year compared to the same period in 2025. Local budgets received 186.6 million hryvnias from these stays. In particular, Odessa recorded 104,000 tourists—a 19% increase compared to the first half of 2025. And although these figures cannot be considered entirely accurate—since the State Agency’s statistics account only for overnight stays in hotels or hostels that are subject to the tourist tax and report the corresponding payments, and may not include tourists who stayed in rented apartments, private homes, or other accommodations where the tourist tax was not reported, it is safe to say that the number of tourists this year is higher than last year’s.  

Кирило Бойко