Tour operators have named the most popular holiday destination in 2024 among Ukrainians. Are there any guarantees for a hotel without Russians
14 June 2024 18:06
“If someone had told me a few years ago that tourists would choose such tours and travel, I would not have believed it, but it is a fact ,”Oleg Kulik, director of the “Come with us” network
For "Komersant Ukrainian", Ukrainian tour operators have named the most popular holiday destinations for Ukrainians in 2024, as well as countries worth paying attention to. And, of course, what do travel agents offer in response to the most popular request for “hotels without Russians”?
UNEXPECTED HOLIDAY DESTINATIONS FOR UKRAINIANS
There is a trend that the number of bus tours has increased dramatically over the past two years. In particular, in summer, more than half of the tours that are bought are bus tours. The first place among bus tours is Bulgaria, which is closer to Ukraine and has affordable prices. There has never been such a large number of holidaymakers from Ukraine to Bulgaria. There are also tours that have never existed before. For example, bus tours to Turkey. There are also many other bus tours to Greece, Montenegro and even Spain.”(Oleg Kulik, director of the network “Let’s go with us”)
“There is such a destination as Tunisia, but for some reason it is not as popular as we would like, although it is really very interesting in the format of beach holidays and historical and cultural recreation.” – Alyona Gapon Co-founder of the travel company AQUAMARINE TOURIST LLC
Tour operators also highlight a truly new, unexpected bus route to Spain.
“This is Spain from Kyiv or Lviv. It’s a long journey, almost two days, but there are significant price savings and bus Spain is popular,”
– says Aliona.
As for air travel, tour operators identify Turkey and Greece as the most popular destinations. There is also demand for Spain, Montenegro, Croatia, and Cyprus.
DO UKRAINIANS HAVE THE MONEY FOR EXPENSIVE EXOTIC DESTINATIONS?
“As for exotic countries, both before the full-scale invasion and now, the percentage of people who have the money for exotic countries is small. The Maldives, Dominican Republic, Cuba, Mexico were considered exotic,”
– says the director of the “Let’s go with us” network
However, other companies observe that there are fewer requests for expensive resorts in general, but they still exist.
“Now there are fewer people who used to be able to afford quite expensive holidays, either in expensive hotels in Turkey or on the islands, or they choose a more budgetary holiday option,”
– says the co-founder of the travel company AQUAMARINE TOURIST LLC
HOW MUCH DOES A TOUR COST ON AVERAGE FOR A UKRAINIAN?
“This is a very relative concept. The hryvnia has devalued. If, relatively speaking, 4 years ago the average cost of a tour was 30 thousand hryvnias, now it is 50. If you calculate it in dollars or euros, the average cost has gone down. But why is this? Because a larger percentage of bus tours are to cheaper Bulgaria,”
– says Oleg Kulik, director of the Let’s Go with Us network.
“If a person wants to save money on holidays, he or she should choose the right time to travel.”
For example, if a tourist wants to relax in Turkey for little money and have good service, he or she should go in May or at the end of October. The holiday will cost 2-3 times cheaper. You could easily fly from Chisinau on 10 May for $200-300 per person to a five-star hotel.
“WE WANT HOTELS WITHOUT RUSSIA”: WHAT CAN TOUR OPERATORS OFFER TO SUCH A REQUEST?
“We want to stay in a hotel without Russians” is not just the most popular question, it is the most important question of a Ukrainian tourist. Theanswer is simple: it is impossible to guarantee that there will be no Russians in the hotel at all,” Oleg Kulik, director of the “Come with us” chain
However, there is a way out . The company explains that there is a concept in hotels in Turkey and Egypt that they are oriented either to all markets (Europe, CIS) or only to the CIS market or Europe. And travel agents can satisfy the requests of Ukrainians in this way. But this does not mean that there will be no Russians in the hotel, just that there will be much fewer of them in percentage terms.
Ukrainians are also offered to focus on Europe when choosing a tour.
“In the first year of the full-scale invasion, there were hotels in Turkey that did not work with Russian tourists, they stopped working with them, but it didn’t last long. Now there are European destinations where there will be fewer of them (Russians). – Alyona Gapon Co-founder of the travel company AQUAMARINE TOURIST LLC
WHAT SHOULD YOU DO IF YOU NOTICE A TOURIST FROM A ROGUE COUNTRY ON HOLIDAY?
“I can’t give you any advice: if you see a Russian, beat him up,”
– jokes the director of the Let’s go with us network.
The algorithm of actions is simple:
- Do not talk to or get to know Russians. Because there is no point in proving anything to the prejudiced
- Do not engage in conflict with Russians yourself
- If a conflict cannot be avoided, contact the hotel security or the law enforcement agencies of the country you are in.
Enjoy your holiday!
Author – Anastasia Fedir
