Crimea is ready to replace Egypt for Russian tourists

The Crimean authorities intend to make the peninsula an alternative place for a  best value holiday for Russians after the closure of air traffic with Egypt, the corresponding decision was made yesterday – many tour operators are now urgently preparing alternative proposals for the tourists who have purchased tickets to Egypt but do not want to abandon their vacation and agree to consider other options.

Thus, the head of Crimea, Sergey Aksenov, gave the order to prepare a tourist offer, where the price would not be higher than the Egyptian equivalent, and to establish a place for leisure on the peninsula for travellers as soon as possible. He said this during a meeting with the Head of the Ministry of Resorts and Tourism of the Republic, Sergey Strelbitsky.

"All the materials for the provision of information and organizational support for tour operators have been collected. Crimea is ready to become an alternative to foreign resorts and more actively develop Russian domestic tourism," TASS quotes the head of the region.

262 hotels and resorts are currently prepared in Crimea to work all year round. Also, the republic has 37 indoor swimming pools, and in some hotels the ‘all inclusive’ system is working successfully, Strelbitsky said.

‘’The south coast of Crimea, due to its  subtropical climate, is ideal for resting in the fall, for overall health, and the prevention and treatment of several diseases," Strelbitsky said.

The Deputy Prime Minister of Crimea, Ruslan Balbec, told us that the head of the Ministry of Tourism will arrange a meeting with all the tour operators that operate in the Russian market.

‘’The order has been given already... We will present Crimea to them as a year-round resort. We have a unique region, where all kinds of tourism are possible. New favorable conditions of work will be offered,’’ Balbec said.

He said that the Ministry of Tourism, in cooperation with the tour operators, has already been involved in the creation of guided tours and individual tours.

"This will allow the travel agents to receive additional income and to offset their risks through the formation of charter flights," the Crimean deputy prime minister said.

Balbec emphasized that the fact that the tour operators are developing new tourist markets, including such as Crimea, will provide some compensation for the losses due to the suspension of flights to Egypt.

Today the chairman of the Egyptian commission investigating the crash of the A321 airplane, Ayman al-Muqaddam, suggested during a press conference that the French source, reported yesterday by the world's media to have said that the sound of an explosion was recorded by the plane recorders, is not a member of the commission of inquiry.

"I'm not sure that he is a member of the commission," the TV channel Russia 24 quotes him as saying.

Al-Muqaddam explained that the sounds that were registered by the plane data recorder should be carefully evaluated. "All scenarios (of the catastrophe) are possible – an explosion of fuel, whatever, I do not want to rule out any scenario," he stressed.

"The causes has not been established yet,’’ al-Muqaddam said, adding that experts will continue to be engaged in their elucidation and it is too early to reach conclusions.