36 flights arrive daily at Simferopol Airport
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Simferopol Airport is quite busy, with 36 flights arriving at it daily and with the resumed international flights, including those from Istanbul. The passenger traffic has reached 12 thousand people a day, said Crimea’s Member of Federation Council Olga Kovitidi at a Moscow press-conference "Crimea and Russia: four months together".
Acting Head of Crimea Sergey Aksenov says that the number of flights arriving in Simferopol is even greater – 60 per day. They arrive from 25 Russian cities. Last year only 6 flights a day came to Simferopol.
According to Kovitidi, 21.5 billion rubles ($611,144,000) has been allocated from the state budget for the renovation of the airport, which will soon take place.
The Federation Council member also said that this year, in total, 1 million Russian and 200 thousand Ukrainian tourists have stayed at Crimean accommodation facilities. About 27-30% guests out of this tourist flow chose private sector accommodation.
The peninsula's health resorts are half full at the moment, and Crimea's children camps are filled to capacity.
According to another organization – Crimea's Resorts and Tourism Ministry – as of July 1, 2014 the peninsula had been visited by 1 million 89 thousand tourists, down 35% y-o-y. Only 20% of them came by plane, with 55% arriving by train and 23% – by ferry boat.
“The crossing of the Kerch Strait is serviced by 4 car and 2 train ferry boats that work round the clock,” said Olga Kovitidi. “The car ferry boats do three trips a day (there and back). For instance, 2,200 cars and 2,000 passengers were ferried across the river from July 10 to July 11.”
The region’s Resorts and Tourism Minister Yelena Yurchenko had more information on the accommodation in Crimea.
“This year about 80% of all tourists stay in Crimea’s inns, spa hotels and health centers,” she says. “The percentage of those using private sector accommodation is down to 20%, which is a reverse trend compared to the last year.”
Yurchenko says that no fewer than 3 million tourists a year should come to Crimea in order for its tourism industry to be profitable.
This year not only Ukrainians represent international tourists. At the end of the week, the first Chinese group (12 people) arrives in Simferopol under a visa-free program. The trip is being organized by South Cross tour operator, aided by the association Visit Russia (World without Borders). This year the operator plans on sending 4 groups (from 12 to 25 people each) to Crimea. The Chinese are mainly interested in historical and cultural sights of the island, in particular – Livadia Palace, which hosted the Yalta Conference, and the Soviet submarine base in Balaklava.
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