13:58, 10 January 2026

Kuban lost 15% of its tourists in a year due to the fuel oil spill.

The number of tours to the Krasnodar Krai in 2025 decreased by 15%, primarily due to Anapa – the resort city received only 2 million tourists amid the fuel oil spill.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," Anapa will be ready to welcome tourists next year, stated Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratyev, announcing the waiver of the tourist tax for the year. Hoteliers stated that bookings for next summer are extremely low. Blogger Yuri Ozarovsky recorded a video message before his direct line with Putin, asking for permission to open Anapa's beaches in 2026, assuring that there are virtually no traces of fuel oil in the sea or on the shore. However, questions from Anapa were not heard during the direct line. Demand for bookings in Anapa increased during the New Year holidays, but the prospects for the 2026 resort season depend on the authorities' decision to reopen the beaches, according to tour operators. The scientist believes it's premature to talk about a complete cleanup of the beaches. The number of tours booked to Anapa for the 2026 season has decreased by 60% compared to sales figures at the end of 2024. Hotels and other accommodation facilities are in a crisis situation comparable to the coronavirus pandemic and require urgent government support.

From the beginning of the year to the end of September, Anapa was visited by 1.5 million tourists, which is almost three million fewer than during the same period last year. Some tourists went to Anapa only because hotels and other accommodation facilities were forced to offer significant discounts due to the fuel oil spill. Only 18,000 children attended Anapa's children's camps this year; in previous years, the city hosted 120,000-130,000 children. Following the fuel oil spill, Anapa will still have several years to restore its reputation for children's recreation. By the end of the season, the decline in tourist flow to Anapa was approximately 60%, amounting to approximately one billion rubles. Due to record revenue declines, Anapa's sanatoriums and children's camps are teetering on the brink of closure.

According to preliminary estimates, Russians will have made approximately 90 million trips within the country in 2025. The list of the most popular destinations has not changed: Krasnodar Krai, Moscow and the surrounding region, St. Petersburg, Caucasian Mineral Waters, and Kaliningrad. Moreover, the main trend in domestic tourism last year was the divergent dynamics across different regions, said Maya Lomidze, Executive Director of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR).

"Krasnodar Krai suffered the biggest loss last year – 15%. This was primarily due to the environmental disaster in Anapa. Anapa welcomed 5.5 million tourists in 2024, but only about 2 million in 2025. Crimea was the clear leader in tourist flow growth, with demand for it increasing by almost 67%. Growth was also observed in the North Caucasus republics, St. Petersburg (+7%), and the Kaliningrad Region (+5%), while demand for Moscow and the Moscow Region remained stable (+4%)," TASS quoted her as saying.

At the same time, the trend is characteristic of the country as a whole. Demand for tours fell by approximately 10% in 2025 compared to the previous year, while independent bookings increased. "The increase is partly due to accommodation options that tour operators do not offer – apartments, suites, small private hotels, etc. And this is an indicator of cost sensitivity," she said.

In December 2024, two tankers carrying fuel oil sank in the Kerch Strait, leading to catastrophic environmental consequences. Details can be found in the "Caucasian Knot" report "Fuel Oil Spill in the Kerch Strait". Materials on the consequences of the fuel oil spill have been collected by the "Caucasian Knot" on the thematic page "Eco-disaster in Kuban".

Translated automatically via Google translate from https://www.kavkaz-uzel.eu/articles/419811