At Christmas and New Year holidays in the Crimea came 46.6 thousand holidaymakers

This year, Christmas and New Year holidays in the Crimea came 46.6 thousand tourists, which is 14.4 thousand persons or 44.7% more than the same period last year. This was reported by the Minister of Resorts and Tourism of Crimea, Alexander Lie.

Minister also added that in comparison with 2009 the number of tourists who had spent Christmas vacation in Crimea, an increase of 10,7 thousand people, or almost 30%. According to A. Lie, including the period from December 27, 2010 to January 7, 2011 the number of unorganized tourists (calculated by the method NAPCS) amounted to 32.7 thousand people, which is 13,5% higher than last year. At the same time organized in sanatoria and health resorts and tourism enterprises autonomy rested 13,9 thousand people, which is 17.7% higher than the same period of 2010 and by 36,3% compared to 2009.

Head resort Minister said that the main factors that helped increase the flow of tourists to the Crimea, was the active promotion of the Crimean New Year holiday, as well as adequate cost winter tours. The Minister added that the very popular this winter, enjoy the tours that combine recreation and treatment. "In this New Year season is especially popular was the combination of the New Year with rehabilitation, including those from SPA-procedures. Therefore, the workload of our resorts in the New Year and Christmas holidays has increased by one third compared with last year and almost 9% compared with 2009 and reached 32%, "- said the minister. - Do not forget the recommendations of physicians, according to which the recovery of the Crimean resorts shows it is in cool season. Mild winter in the Crimea, you can enjoy climatotherapy and spa procedures in full. I recall that in the Crimean Sechenov Institute of comparing the climatic conditions of the South coast resorts and the Black Sea-Mediterranean region showed that the health potential of the Crimea is much higher than that of most foreign resorts.

However, the minister lamented that the number of resorts operating in the New Year holiday period, remained at the level of last year. So, as of January 6 of 656 sanatoriums of Crimea worked only 110 bases of accommodation, while in the off-season can operate 244 health centers. "We intend to make maximum efforts to expand the scope of the holiday season in Crimea, including by increasing pensions and health centers, offering their services all year round" - he stressed.

Moreover, Vice-Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the ARC George Psarjov noted that beyond the holiday season can be extended thanks to the modernization of infrastructure and medical and health center, as well as through the development of cognitive and event tourism. "This will bring the resort and tourist complex on a qualitatively new level" - summed up the vice-premier.

In turn, Chairman of the Standing Committee of the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC for recreation and sanatorium-resort complex and tourism Vladimir Osipenko said that increasing numbers of tourists for the winter holidays in the Crimea is a consequence of a stable political situation on the peninsula, the joint work of the Crimean government and the Verkhovna Rada of the ARC on infrastructure development of the Crimea.

At the same time, he noted that this figure - not a cause for complacency. According to V. Osipenko, today in front of the resort and tourism industry faces a number of important challenges, in particular, access to beach areas, bringing the Crimean beaches to the European standards of operation, the output of the shadow of private tourist accommodation facilities, and many others. "Reaching these goals will allow development strategy of the Crimea until 2020, a major priority of which is the modernization of spa and recreational complexes, as well as tourism enterprises", - concluded the head of the profile commission.