Irina Sizova
especially for EcoTourism Expert 
The warm months of early autumn in the south of Russia - a mellow season - at Black Sea resorts in the Krasnodar Territory will last longer in 2024 than usual, almost until November, according to Roman Vilfand, Chief Research Officer of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia.
“The active layer of the ocean has warmed up well, which will result in the longer off-peak season. The water temperature in the Black Sea in early September is expected to be 26 degrees Celsius, which corresponds to the mellow season when it is not hot, the air temperature is below 30 degrees Celsius, and the water temperature is comfortable. According to our calculations, the water temperature is expected to be pleasant up to 22 degrees Celsius until mid-October,” said Roman Vilfand, Chief Research Officer of the Hydrometeorological Center of Russia.
The early autumn season in the resort city of Sochi promises to be hot both in terms of weather and in terms of tourists flows. The tour operator Alean reports that the demand for vacationing in autumn in the country’s main resort areas has grown by 15 percent compared to last year. Our correspondent found out what vacationers expect from the ‘summer in autumn’ in Sochi.
Since the beginning of the year, over 5 mn people have enjoyed their vacations at the Sochi’s resorts. According to the resort city’s authorities, another 1.4 mn vacationers are expected to come during the ‘mellow season’. According to the Sochi city’s administration, 70 percent of the city’s collective accommodation facilities have already been booked for this period.
“The amount of resort fees (visitor’s tax) in Sochi has increased by 9 percent over six months. From the beginning of the year to the 1st of August, 322.6 mn rubles of resort fees have been collected in Sochi compared to 296.3 mn rubles for the same period in 2023. The tourism industry accounts for about 20 percent in the overall structure of the city’s economy, but taking into account the multiplier effect that extends to related industries, its contribution is up to 90 percent. According to the results of the first half of the year, the services rendered by the Sochi’s resort and tourism sector amounted to 36.8 bn rubles, up 23 percent compared to the same period last year,” said the representative of the resort city’s administration.
According to the resort city’s authorities, 30 percent more visitors are expected to arrive in the coming September than a year ago. At the same time, demand is growing for enjoying the vacations both at the seaside and in the mountains.
“According to data, the current occupancy rate of the Rosa Khutor resort in September is about 70 percent, up 30 percent compared to last year, which is due not only to individual tourists, but also to tourist groups coming in early autumn. The hotel rooms for October are now 35 percent booked, which is up 25 percent compared to last year. The tourist flow growth in October is due to general events held in the resort city and a number of festivals,” the Rosa Khutor resort reports.
According to the Turvisor system, 6.5 percent of all tours in August and early September sold are for the vacations in Sochi. In this indicator, the resort ranks third after Turkish Alanya and Kemer. Indeed, it’s most pleasant to come on vacation at a time when there is no sweltering heat, and one can enjoy the warm waves of the Black Sea?
“While other resort cities of the Krasnodar Territory have seasonal facilities, Sochi has long been a year-round resort. Demand for the ‘mellow season’ has always been high. This year, a 90-percent hotel occupancy can be expected in September. There are already accommodation facilities that are fully booked, for example, all hotel rooms at the large hotel complex Barkhatniye Sezony (Mellow Seasons). The most difficult situation is with health resorts. This type of vacationing is in demand as the health resorts provide three meals a day, medical treatment, most of them have their own beach, all this allows their visitors to relax. But there are very few health resorts in Sochi. Only 56 (2.4 percent) out of 2,300 accommodation facilities are working. Demand is growing for accommodation facilities in the seaside cluster and also in the mountain cluster where many apartments are located. Despite the fact that the occupancy rate is quite high, rooms and apartments can be found in accommodation facilities of any category,” said Bella Tarasova, General Director of the tour operator Riviera-Sochi. The availability of vacant rooms and apartments in the resort area is also confirmed by an unusual study held by the Russian Union of Travel Industry that determined the number of vacationers in the resort cities in the Krasnodar Territory. It turned out that with the current norm of five square meters per person in the beach area, there are 10 persons for a ‘square meter at the seaside’ in Anapa. This figure is nine persons in Novorossiysk, and three or four persons in Gelendzhik. But in Sochi, the situation with the beaches is stable, it is easy to find vacant sun loungers - there are only 2.7 vacationers per one square meter of the beach area. Of course, it is not only the nice sea that attracts tourists to Sochi during their vacations in autumn. One of the reasons for the increased demand is the opportunity to save money. For example, the price of transportation in the off-peak tourism season is expected to decline by 14 percent, compared to August. The cost of the flight can reach up to 90 percent of the cost of the tour.
“At the beginning of September, air tickets to Sochi without baggage start from 21,200 rubles, and in the second half of the month, the air ticket price starts from 20,000 rubles,” the Ural Airlines informed. The Association of Tour Operators of Russia says that in the IFly airlines, the cost of a flight with baggage in the first half of September starts from 23,800 rubles, and in the second half, it is from 21,600 rubles.
According to the national tour operator Alean, the cost of the vacations in the off-peak season in the resort cities of the Krasnodar Territory is 15-30 percent lower than in the peak season in summer. While one night per person costs an average of 6,500 rubles at a 4-star hotel or health resort in August, and 18,000 rubles at a 5-star hotel, it is lower in autumn - from 4,500 and 11,000-12,000 rubles, respectively. The experts of the Russian Union of Travel Industry expect the largest decrease in the cost of vacationing in Sochi - by 30 percent - only in October.
“Increased demand for vacations in Sochi is expected to remain until September 15. This year, accommodation prices have increased by 15-20 percent, and they have been increasing by this figure for three years in a row. It turns out that in recent years, the cost of vacationing in Sochi has risen by 50 percent or even more. All this is explained by limited transport accessibility of the resort areas of the Krasnodar Territory as the transportation prices are very high. Hoteliers have learned to respond well to high demand. But today, prices are already at a level where effect can become negative. In last February, we observed a ‘dead season’ for the first time. At the beginning of the season in June-July, there were mass cancellations of hotel reservations, which had not happened for quite a long time. People booked hotels in advance, and closer to the trip time they realized that they could not afford to stay at hotels. This was especially evident in the 3-star hotel segment as there were about 15 percent hotel cancellations,” said Valery Sychyov, Deputy General Director of the tour operator Rosyugkurort.
According to Dmitry Bogdanov, Chairman of the Expert Council of the AMOS Hoteliers Association, the rise in prices for vacations in Sochi is due to an increased hotel inflation.
“The cost of vacationing in Sochi in the summer season has increased by 15-20 percent compared to last year. It’s due to the growing hotel room price inflation, it is higher than the average one in the country. Prices for food products are increasing, in addition, the shortage of food suppliers for hotels is becoming greater. The shortage of personnel in the hotel industry is estimated at 30-40 percent on average. The legal and regulatory framework is not perfect, there are a lot of non-fiscal payments that lead to an increase in prices. As a result, tourism ranks 47th in profitability among 49 sectors of the country’s economy,” said Dmitry Bogdanov, Chairman of the Expert Council of the AMOS Hoteliers Association.
The popularity of apart-hotels grows as a response to the rising prices for hotel rooms. The demand for staying at Sochi apartments during vacations in 2024 has grown by 20-30 percent compared to last year. “Apart-hotels are becoming increasingly popular with tourists as they are more economical for the people coming to resort cities. For example, if a family with several children comes on vacations and wants to stay at a hotel, they need to book a suite or a junior suite. Most apartments have a kitchen where vacationers can cook or warm up some food for their kids. This type of vacationing is more ‘independent’, people are not tied to hotel services, for example, the meals at the hotel restaurant. At the same time, apart-hotels are often located not far from the beach. Our apart-hotel was set up in 2013. The occupancy rate for September is traditionally high, from 80 to 85 percent. All the apartments are booked within a very short time, and the demand will start declining only after September, 15,” said Anna Balashova, Director of the Brevis apart-hotel.
Another way to save money on vacations in Sochi is to rent an apartment. Moreover, in September, prices for rental housing on the Black Sea coast on average decrease by 20 percent compared to August. While the cost of renting an apartment in Sochi in the summer season was five to 6,000 rubles per day, it is expected to be lower in the off-peak season and cost from 4,000 to 5,000 rubles per day, and renting a house can cost from 14,000-15,000 compared to 16,000-17,000 rubles in summer.
“One should start renting apartments for the off-peak season in Sochi as the demand is high. From September 5 to 10, many apartments are already booked. The prices are at the level of June,” noted the representative of the Alex Rent real estate rental company.
Autumn in the Crimea
The main alternative to Sochi for vacationing in the mellow season is the Crimea. According to the authorities of the peninsula, about 3.3 mn tourists visited the Crimea in January-July this year. Compared to last year, the tourist flow increased by 19 percent. According to experts, the restoration of the popularity of the Crimean tourism destination is due to 30-percent lower prices compared to other resort areas of the Black Sea coast. The most popular resort cities of the Crimea in the autumn-summer are Yalta, Evpatoria, Alushta. About 60 percent of the bookings are for 3- and 4-star hotels. Despite the fact that prices have increased by half compared to 2023, the average cost of vacations in the off-peak season in early autumn in the Crimea is 97,400 rubles for 10 nights.
