Bookings in Anapa are growing amid falling sales in Tuapse.

After four attacks on infrastructure in Tuapse, tour bookings have dropped significantly, raising concerns not only about oil spills but also about the possibility of further attacks. Anapa is showing an increase in sales compared to last year.

As reported by the "Caucasian Knot," sections of the Black Sea coast near Tuapse contaminated by oil products from the local oil refinery are being cleaned unevenly: active work is being carried out near city infrastructure, but remote and "wild" beaches are being neglected, local residents and volunteers stated.

After the first strike on April 16, people inquired about the situation in the Tuapse area, but previously booked trips were not canceled, said Alexan Mkrtchyan, Vice President of the Alliance of Travel Agencies of Russia and CEO of the Pink Elephant travel agency chain.

"When drones attacked the oil refinery a second time on April 20, tour sales to the Tuapse region slowed. "And after the third and fourth strikes (April 28 and May 1), previously booked tours were cancelled, and sales of new ones completely stopped," Profile quoted him as saying.

Sergey Romashkin, vice president of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR) for domestic tourism and head of the tour operator "Dolphin," clarified that the drone strikes directly affected only the industrial center of Tuapse, which is not a tourist destination at all.

"Popular hotels on the coast—in Olginka, Nebug, and other villages—are located more than 10-20 kilometers from the city, and the resort infrastructure there was completely undamaged," he told the publication.

Representatives of the tour operator "Alean" indicated that new bookings for summer and fall vacations in the Tuapse region are continuing to arrive. "Due to the negative news environment, bookings for this destination have fallen by 15% compared to the weeks before the incident, but haven't stopped completely," the company noted.

"May is a lost month for this region, that's clear. But in June, when the sea water warms up and swimming is possible, I think tourist traffic will increase slightly. It won't reach last year's levels, but we can bring back 50-70% of tourists," Mkrtchyan believes.

Anapa's popularity is growing compared to last year

At the same time, Anapa is showing an increase in tour sales. Therefore, the potential loss of the Tuapse District as a tourist destination this summer will have little impact on the overall tourist flow to the Krasnodar Krai, experts say.

Analysts disagree on the extent to which sales have increased.

"Tuapse's share of the region's total tourism is three, four percent at most. That is, even if trips there are halved, it won't significantly impact the overall picture, especially since, for example, Anapa bookings are growing by leaps and bounds this year," says Romashkin.

"Anapa already saw a 40% increase in tourists during the May holidays," added Aleksan Mkrtchyan. "And this is now, when you can't swim in the sea. And if the beaches reopen, the end-of-season increase could be 60% or even 70% compared to last year."

Aleant estimates the overall increase in summer bookings in Anapa compared to last summer to be around 20%, according to the publication.