The resort season in Crimea is falling flat, with tourists canceling their trips en masse

In the temporarily occupied Crimea, demand for vacations has plummeted. Hotel bookings have dropped by nearly a third, and the tourism industry expects to lose millions of vacationers.

This is reported by Krym.Realii.

According to data from the Travelline system, from May 24 to June 6, 2026, the number of bookings in Crimea fell by 31% compared to the same period last year. In Sevastopol, the drop was 40%.

At the same time, tourists are canceling their planned vacations en masse. During this period, 79% of reservations were canceled in Crimea, and 71% in Sevastopol.

Ilya Umansky, president of the Russian Union of the Tourism Industry, cited three main reasons for this decline. Among them are a general decline in consumer activity, the strengthening of the ruble—which has made foreign travel more affordable for Russians—and transportation issues.

These include flight delays, unstable airport operations, and logistics issues.

Aleksan Mkrtchyan, founder of the “Pink Elephant” travel agency chain, stated that currently, for every two new bookings, there are ten cancellations.

“No one wants to get stuck because of fuel problems,” he said.

According to Mkrtchyan’s forecast, occupied Crimea could lose between 3 and 4 million tourists this year. The problems have become particularly acute on the eve of the high season, which traditionally begins after June 20.

According to him, last year Crimea received an additional influx of tourists due to problems in Anapa following a fuel oil spill off the coast. This year, the situation could be the opposite.

Against the backdrop of fuel shortages, Russian Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak described the situation as “difficult, but under control.” Among the measures taken by the Russian authorities, he cited a complete ban on the export of gasoline and jet fuel, an increase in the capacity of oil refineries, and a reduction in the time required for their repairs.

Another blow to the tourism industry was the decision by the occupying authorities in Crimea to suspend the reception of organized children’s groups until the end of summer. The corresponding decree was signed on June 22 by Sergey Aksyonov, head of the occupying authorities in Crimea.

The restrictions apply to children’s camps, health resorts, and hotels. For businesses that worked with organized groups of children, this means a significant loss of revenue.

According to media reports, hotels are also unable to raise prices significantly due to low demand. The average cost of accommodation has risen by less than 2%. At the same time, even lower prices are not helping to attract tourists due to difficulties traveling to the peninsula.

The length of vacations has also changed. Whereas tourists previously planned trips lasting 13–14 days, the average vacation length has now dropped to 10–11 days. Tourists are also increasingly booking trips for just five days.

Even those who do go on vacation are trying to spend less.

Ірина Глухова