Crimea Tourism: Blackouts and Refund Struggles
If in July it was easy to find a spot under an umbrella even at midday, now on Yevpatoria beaches there are noticeably more vacationers
In August, vacationers have returned to the peninsula«s beaches, though significantly fewer than planned in May, but the flow is gradually increasing. At the same time, many people have yet to receive refunds for unused vacations. This is reported in a piece by an MSK1.RU journalist from Crimea.
When you have the endless sea and gentle sun at your disposal, the lack of electricity is not so bothersome
«Bang — and that«s it!»
In Gurzuf, there are power and water outages, but the beaches are not as crowded as usual. «We need to look for the good in everything,» write tourists who chose this village for vacation
«We decided to give our daughter a holiday with a friend at a five-star hotel in Alushta for her 20th birthday. The kids refused the all-inclusive package to avoid being tied to lunch and dinner, and paid for half-board — 15,000 rubles per day for a double room,» says Elena Yurovskaya from Simferopol. «The children arrived. The elevators weren«t working — they had to carry their suitcases up to the sixth floor by stairs, with no help. There was no overhead light in the room, only sockets worked and sometimes the air conditioner. The spa complex and pool were closed. So, services included in the price were unavailable, and no one refunds the money — just live as you can. Luckily we are Crimeans — the kids returned home to Simferopol after two days of such a vacation. But people who came from afar and paid for full board at 30,000 rubles per day just lived without light and everything else.»
Not all tourists are ready for risks and everyday discomfort — on the beaches of Beregovoye, there are significantly fewer vacationers than usual at the height of the season
The upset mother asked not to name the hotel, as more than a week has passed since her daughter«s stay, and she hopes that life there has been restored with additional generators.
Vacationers had to be evacuated from Yalta«s Primorsky beach due to an unmanned boat that broke through to the coast. Fortunately, there were no injuries or destruction
Own generators and a water well are now the main advantages of Crimean accommodations. Hotels and guesthouses advertise not cozy rooms, proximity to the sea, or excellent cuisine, but constant electricity and water supply. The availability of gasoline and diesel has taken a back seat, as fuel is available at gas stations on the way to Crimea, and on the peninsula itself, AI-100 and AI-99 are available without queues at prices from 280 to 310 rubles per liter (AI-92 and AI-95 are harder to find). For Crimeans, it«s expensive, but tourists fill up if really needed. The problem with electricity supply and, consequently, water, has not yet been resolved.
«During our vacation in Alushta (11 days), only 5 days the power wasn«t cut. We arrived and immediately were without light: there was electricity for 3 hours a day and 6 hours without it, but at least something. Then from the night — bang — and that»s it. The situation changes every day, impossible to predict. It«s been alarming since the end of June. Yalta for some reason stirred everyone up, but even before that, half the peninsula was already without light and water with raids,» writes Irina from St. Petersburg in the Telegram channel «Crimea — Main Tourist Chat».
Power outages affect not only tourists« comfort but also entertainment. To save capacity, the embankments of resort towns and villages — the main hub of nighttime tourist life — are lit by rare signs and trendy lanterns. The splash of waves and chirping of crickets is drowned out by the steady hum of generators powering cafes and shops. But this doesn»t stop tourists from having fun: on the embankments of Yalta or Yevpatoria, there are several impromptu dance floors where vacationers in the semi-darkness boldly perform complex steps.
The cultural program this season is very quiet. Artists, since the closure of Simferopol airport in 2022, have not favored the peninsula with tours. But in summer, they still habitually went on «resort tours.» This summer, there were not many announced performances, but even those didn«t happen. Tours of Trofim, Shaman, Vaenga were canceled; Vladimir Vinokur and Yuri Kuklachev with their restless artists decided not to come to the peninsula. Singer Slava held out on posters the longest, but she too gave in to circumstances.
So tourists have to look for alternatives. According to Kryminform agency, based on box office and supplier data, alcohol sales in the Black Sea south have broken a quarter-century record — so much hasn«t been drunk here since 2001. Instead of bright lights and star concerts, local intoxicating drinks give tourists a lift.
«We spent a week in Alushta at «Crimean Residence.» Power was cut twice a day. Our apartment was on the 1st floor, so we had water and didn«t need the elevator. The pools worked. Overall, everything was fine. On the embankment, many have generators. People sit in cafes charging phones. But it»s gotten worse there and there«s no light. Now we»re in Novy Svet — for 3 days electricity wasn«t cut at all. And yesterday evening everything went dark, and still no light. Those who can connect generators. But we watched a shelling from the balcony — it was serious. The whole sky was glowing,» shares vacation impressions in the Telegram channel «Crimea Tourist Chat» Vika from Moscow.
This summer in Crimea, it«s not so easy for tourists to relax even on vacation — they have to consider new inputs due to the fuel and energy crisis.
«Today we arrived from Sudak to St. Petersburg. In the last three days, when the power was cut, we were moved to another hotel with light and water. So, of course, it«s not too stressful, but if possible, choose hotels with generators, and clarify how they turn them on: for an hour or two or half a day, or if they work all the time. Plus, I recommend withdrawing cash in advance, in Sudak there»s a limit on withdrawal, plus many ATMs just don«t work, and the ones that did had huge queues,» advises Katya Lebedeva from St. Petersburg in the Telegram channel «Crimea Tourist Chat».
«We only live once»
But despite the difficulties, the tourist flow to Crimea, which sharply decreased from mid-June to late July, is starting to gradually increase. No, there are no traffic jams on the Crimean Bridge, but cars are noticeably more than in July. «We only live once,» write residents of Russian cities craving sun and sea and head to Crimea.
There are indeed more vacationers on the beaches, and «sellers» of sunbeds, bungalows, and other infrastructure have cheered up a bit. Boats, «bananas,» and other water activities have been brought to the piers, and SUP rentals have increased. At the same time, prices for services remain reasonable: from 300 to 500 rubles for a sunbed, 2–2.5 thousand per day for a bungalow, up to 1000 rubles for SUP rental. Perhaps this was facilitated by lower prices in hotels and guesthouses: from 15 to 30 percent for tourists from the mainland, up to 50 percent for Crimeans, to fill rooms at least for weekends.
«No one will say what will happen in late August and September, what price to ориентироваться. At the moment, all-inclusive for free for August — from 10,000 rubles, with problems with light and water. At «Yalta-Intourist,» where there is both water and electricity — 19,000 with breakfasts (buffet) for 3 adults (child is 17),» discuss prices in the Telegram channel «Crimea Tourist Chat» potential tourists still planning to vacation in Crimea this summer or in the velvet season. Moreover, there are enough positive reviews.
«We brought gasoline with us from Samara, 180 liters in old Soviet canisters. In Crimea, we refueled without problems on M-4, back — it seemed to me that gasoline was worse. We used our supply to Saratov. And brought 20 liters left + almost a full tank. I separately note the spirit of Crimeans and their strength of spirit. Holding on to each other, smiling and saying kind words in such a difficult situation, supporting visitors and radiating optimism — this commands a ton of respect. In Sudak, cafes work, shops too. The water park opened on August 1, but in some strange format (slides don«t work, only pool and animation). To all vacationers — light, sea, sun, and the most positive mood. Thank you, Crimea. We will definitely come next year,» reports in the Telegram channel «Crimea — Main Tourist Chat» Natalya and rates the vacation spent in difficult conditions as quite positive.
«In Yevpatoria, electricity is mostly available, cut off 3–4 times a day for about 30–60 minutes. Shops have everything, trams work. Peaches at the collective farm market are incredibly tasty. Gasoline 95 is available at 230 ₽,» reports Irina from Nizhny Novgorod.
«The last days were fine! Everything worked: cafes, restaurants, shops. The sea was warm, not many people on the embankments, but enough vacationers. It even seemed that life returned to normal. We are not in Yevpatoria, but nearby, in a village. I was in the city these days and even rejoiced that everything improved.
Last night was loud, we sit without light, don«t know what, where, and how…» tells Olga from Moscow in the Telegram channel «Crimea — Main Tourist Chat».
Indeed, the situation on any coast of Crimea can change in a second. Just on the Primorsky beach in Yalta, tourists were lounging on sunbeds and dipping into the warmest sea, when an urgent evacuation began: an unmanned boat packed with kilograms of explosives broke through to the resort coast. Fortunately, it was defused without losses or injuries.
A few days later — a new evacuation from the beach and tent camp «Inzhir» near Balaklava. Due to the debris of a shot-down drone, a forest caught fire, and tourists were evacuated by boats from the smoke zone. The fire was fought for several days. And this time, fortunately, there were no injuries. But no one can guarantee that no more sea drones or air attacks will disturb the peace of vacationers. Therefore, all tourists vacationing in Crimea or planning to go to the peninsula need to clearly understand the risks.
«In general, it«s a pity for Crimeans: the season is already short, and this year it»s even worse. Housing prices are low, very few vacationers, cafes are empty. They, of course, hold on, everyone is friendly, the hostess apologized for the lack of electricity, was ready to refund money if we decided to leave early. And warned all guests. How I wish peace would come!» — and it«s hard to disagree with the opinion of Muscovite Marina in the Telegram channel «Crimea — Main Tourist Chat».
Return our money
Everyone who wanted to has already canceled bookings for vacations in hotels and guesthouses on the peninsula. But not everyone has received refunds. The amounts paid for the failed vacation may be small, and waiting for their return won«t damage the family budget. Or they can be quite significant, especially if you need to rebook a vacation elsewhere.
«If the hotel doesn«t refund the prepayment, where can I turn? They said by phone that there»s a state of emergency and they may not refund at all. They don«t respond to letters at all,» asks Irina in the Telegram channel «Crimea — Main Tourist Chat.» And this question is relevant for many failed Crimean vacationers.
According to ATOR, tour operators have already returned 1.5 billion rubles to clients for canceled 30,000 vouchers (this is 15% of all cancellations this season). But there are other participants in the tourism market who cannot fully settle with vacationers so easily.
«A significant part of the funds, probably about half or a little more, is accumulated by hotels where tourists booked vacations directly. And hotels are now in a particularly difficult situation because they have no source of financial diversification. That is, they have one hotel, so the money is spent on it. How spent? Invested in preparation for the season. For example, updated pool equipment or landscaping, room renovations, purchased new furniture… Some prudent owners even buy long-shelf-life products for the whole season: sugar, grains, because everything gets more expensive in summer. Tourists rightly ask: where is our money? And it«s already in lawns, in sugar, in new furniture,» explains Sergey Romashkin, head of tour operator «Delfin,» vice president of ATOR.
«We returned to everyone who demanded money back in June, the sum was large — hundreds of millions of rubles. For us, these were quite large returns, but we were able to diversify them through other destinations. But Crimean tour operators, as a rule, have no other destinations, so refunds are slow, they offer tourists to wait a bit, promising to pay everything by September. The same situation was a year and a half ago in Anapa, when before the season tourists demanded refunds. Then there was a «cash gap» — suddenly revenue ended, no new sales, and those who bought earlier say they are taking everything back. Now Crimea has fallen into this «cash gap.» But to avoid the tension that was in Anapa, the federal government allocated 4 billion rubles to support the Crimean tourism industry. Therefore, I think these funds, though they won«t solve the problem completely, will somehow reduce the tension, those who really need it will get money first, and those who are ready to wait will wait. Of course, over time everyone will get their funds, even this year, but it»s not yet possible to organize it quickly,» concluded the expert.
