How the 2026 Resort Season Opened in Krasnodar Krai and Crimea. The Peninsula is Losing Tourists Due to Fuel Shortages, Anapa and Other Southern Russian Cities Are Trying to Capture the Flow - But It's Not All Calm Here Either

The resort season in Krasnodar Krai and Crimea has opened unevenly this year. The peninsula is facing a fuel crisis and a collapse in bookings: hotel reservations have fallen by a third, and cancellations have reached 79%. The reason is that tourists wanting to travel by car are afraid they won't be able to get back. In Krasnodar Krai, the dynamics are mixed: Sochi is losing 20% of demand, while Anapa, having recovered from an oil spill, shows a growth of up to 40%. In Tuapse, following drone strikes on a oil depot, oil products are still being collected from rivers and the coast. However, there are also those who speak of the cleanest sea. Local hotels and guesthouses, noticing a drop in demand, are forced to attract tourists with accommodation discounts. 'Novaya-Evropa' examines the situation with the opening of the resort season in the main southern destinations. People are relaxing on the Black Sea beach against the backdrop of a Russian warship in Sevastopol, Crimea, Ukraine, July 15, 2022. Photo: Olga Maltseva / AFP / Scanpix / LETA. Crimea: Tourist flow falls amid fuel crisis In early June 2026, tourist flow to Crimea sharply decreased, as reported by 'Kommersant'. According to the newspaper, from May 24 to June 6, the number of hotel bookings fell by 31% compared to the same period last year. Sevastopol also suffered, with a decline of 40%. Data from the service OneTwoTrip shows an even sharper drop: from June 1 to 7, the number of bookings in Crimea decreased threefold. Because of this, the peninsula dropped out of the top ten most popular domestic tourist destinations, accounting for only 1.5% of all sales. The main problem is not just a decrease in new bookings, but a huge increase in cancellations of already planned trips. According to Travelline, cited by 'Kommersant', 79% of bookings were canceled in Crimea and 71% in Sevastopol. In general, for every two new bookings, there are now ten cancellations of old ones. The main reason for this situation is the fuel crisis that began in Crimea at the end of May 2026. Tourists are simply afraid of getting 'trapped' due to fuel shortages. As 'Novaya-Evropa' wrote, due to logistics problems in the region caused by Ukrainian drone attacks on the 'Novorossiya' highway, the peninsula authorities introduced restrictions on the sale of AI-95 and AI-92 gasoline. Simferopol Airport has not been operating since 2022 due to the war in Ukraine, and the primary way to reach the peninsula remains by car - therefore, the ability to refuel a car without major problems is very important for tourists. 'I'm worried about the trip. In previous years, my husband and I drove. I never worried. But this year it's me, my daughter, and my 74-year-old mother. My husband can't. And there's no alternative, and I have to decide something. I don't even want to go to Turkey. I really want to go to my beloved Kanaka, and friends are coming from another city. We planned for so long, we agonitively bought these tickets,' writes Ksenia in one of the tourist chats. In 2025, 76% of guests in Crimea arrived by private car or bus, and the remaining 24% by train, writes 'Kommersant'. The distance from the last gas station before the Crimean Bridge to popular resorts (Feodosia, Yalta) is 250–300 km, so without the ability to refuel within the peninsula, the trip becomes very risky. Trains cannot fully replace planes due to limited capacity, 'Kommersant' wrote earlier. In addition, tickets are expensive: the price of a compartment in the summer reaches 20–23 thousand rubles. Also, rail service depends on the operation of the Crimean Bridge, crossing which is also very risky. One hotel in Saki, Crimea, even launched an unusual promotion: for bookings of two nights or more, guests received 10 liters of gasoline, and for three nights or more, 20 liters. The hotel explained to 'Pod'yom' that they used a small reserve of fuel for generators, not industrial volumes. According to them, employees themselves stand in queues for gasoline, but in general, 'there are no problems with fuel in Crimea, everyone stands in line - and that's fine.' However, four days later, as 'Ostorozhno, Novosti' reports, the promotion had to be stopped because the gasoline ran out. Beach in Anapa, Krasnodar Krai, May 22, 2026. Photo: Vitaly Timkin / Sputnik / Imago Images / Scanpix / LETA. The resort season in Crimea is suffering not only from the fuel crisis but also from increased prices: this year, a vacation on the peninsula has become 20–25% more expensive due to VAT increase, inflation, and increased costs for hoteliers, tourism expert Vladislav Burya told the newspaper. Prices have risen most sharply in 4–5 star hotels. According to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia (ATOR), the average check in Crimea for 9 nights, excluding flights, has increased by 17–25% to 117–150 thousand rubles for two. However, even after the price increase, a vacation on the South Coast of Crimea remains 10–17% cheaper than in Sochi. In Kerch, the administration of the guesthouse 'Mesto Vstrechi' tried to reassure guests in a social media post. They stated that all trains to and from Kerch run on schedule, although 'the schedule may change due to the closure of the Crimean Bridge or due to emergency situations.' 'We understand that you are worried about whether it is safe to travel to Kerch, but we can assure you that it is calm and stable in our city,' the message reads. Anapa - Crimea's main competitor? According to expert forecasts, tourists may massively reorient to Krasnodar Krai, particularly to Anapa. Last year, the resort season in the city was severely limited due to the consequences of an environmental disaster - an oil spill in the Kerch Strait. About 2.4 thousand tons of oil products entered the sea, causing widespread pollution of the waters and coastline from Anapa to Sevastopol. A federal state of emergency was declared in Krasnodar Krai - 'Novaya-Evropa' reported on this in detail. Anapa's coast was officially declared a dangerous zone: it was then forbidden not only to swim but also to enter the beaches 'within the boundaries' of these 'dangerous zones.' This led to a decrease in tourist flow. By the end of February 2026, the authorities of Krasnodar Krai announced a new stage of beach restoration - they began laying fresh sand. Before that, the beaches were cleared of large debris, the top layer of sand was sieved, then soil was raised from the depths, leveled, and dried. As a result, there was noticeably less sand on the coast. At the same time, the authorities did not deny that all the fuel oil had not been collected. The pebble beaches of Anapa were the first to be removed from the emergency zone in March 2026. According to NGS70, it is on the stony sections of the coast that most tourists are currently resting. The governor of Krasnodar Krai, Veniamin Kondratyev, recently commented on the fuel oil situation, stating that traces of oil products on the coast, according to him, have always been present. 'Both in my childhood and yours - fuel oil was always there. The question is only how much of it one sees. Someone sees a little and says, 'Wow, there's a lot of it!'' said Kondratyev. The head of Rospotrebnadzor, Anna Popova, stated at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum that Anapa's beaches are now completely safe for vacationers. According to her, from June 1, all beaches previously excluded from the 'dangerous zone' were officially opened for swimming. In 2025, the resort experienced a downturn, Popova admitted: it was visited by only 1.5 million people. However, in the current season, the authorities expect at least a twofold increase: at least 3 million vacationers. According to ATOR, Anapa recorded a record increase in bookings - by 35–40% - due to the so-called 'low base effect.' Last year, tourists massively rejected Anapa due to the fuel oil spill, and now, after beach cleaning and official safety statements, demand has recovered. Anapa-based travel agent Maria confirmed in a conversation with 'Novaya-Evropa' that demand for holidays has increased compared to last year, although compared to the year before last, the situation is worse: 'But you understand the situation in the country.' Answering the question about the consequences of the fuel oil disaster, Maria assured that now 'everything is fine.' According to her, sometimes 'something washes ashore' from Tuapse, but the city administration works 'promptly': 'Everything was collected quickly, and no one even knew about it.' She also said that Anapa's beaches were already clean, and new sand was brought in to reassure tourists - 'not quartz, but some other kind': 'It was sieved, and it's fine.' Maria admitted that the situation is ambiguous, but overall, in her assessment, 'everything has normalized.' Tuapse: How the city lives after Ukrainian drone attacks and 'oil rain' In May, the head of the Tuapse municipal district of Krasnodar Krai, Sergey Boyko, promised that the tourist season would not be canceled in the city, despite fires caused by three Ukrainian strikes on oil infrastructure in April. Residents of the city then complained of a burning smell and black streaks in the river resembling oil products, and the city was covered by a real 'oil rain.' 'Novaya-Evropa' reported on this in detail. Oil products from the burning oil depot entered the local river (also named Tuapse) and then the Black Sea. Local journalists reported that in mid-May, remnants of oil products were observed on the beaches near Tuapse. On May 28, Boyko reported that all contaminated beaches except the city beaches had been cleaned, and the cleaning work was still ongoing. In total, according to him, 69 beaches will be opened in the district during the summer season of 2026. Embankment in Tuapse, Krasnodar Krai, May 1, 2026. Photo: Boris Morozov / Sputnik / Profimedia. After the oil spill, Tuapse hotels and guesthouses began to lower prices for summer holidays by an average of 10–15% to attract tourists, said the Russian Union of Travel Industry. They added that the drop in demand for Tuapse is particularly noticeable in June. The situation is much worse in the resort villages of the Tuapse district: the press service of the tour operator 'Alean' reported that demand there has fallen by 50% compared to last year. In the first days of June, amid the opening of beaches announced by the authorities, a storm hit the region, which provoked a repeated release of oil products onto the coast. As 'Agentstvo' reported, city residents complained of an unpleasant odor. According to ecologist Igor Shkramuk, the multi-day storm broke down large oil slicks into small ones, which mixed with sand, clay, and suspended matter. As a result, the shore may look cleaner visually, but the pollution has not disappeared. Local resident Yevgeny, however, said in his video that he does not see any remnants of oil products by the sea in Tuapse, 'there is no catastrophe, everything is clean, there is dirt, but it's just ordinary sticks.' At the same time, he noted that there are few people at the resort, and many previously opened cafes and canteens are not working. 'The resort season has opened, the beach has opened... but the bags of fuel oil have not been removed, equipment is standing in the middle of the beach, shovels covered in fuel oil are right by the embankment, bonfires are burning on the beach - they are burning trash... the pedestrian zone along the Tuapse river is also covered in fuel oil and not cleaned,' a local resident expressed on social media. Other cities in Krasnodar Krai: Sochi, Adler, Gelendzhik According to ATOR, the total number of bookings for summer tours in the country has decreased by 10–12% compared to the same period last year. At the same time, despite the overall decline, Krasnodar Krai showed an 8% increase. However, this dynamic is extremely uneven, and Anapa, which we wrote about above, became the main driver of growth. Sochi, traditionally leading in tourist numbers, has instead declined by 15–20%, ATOR reported. According to the Association, prices in Sochi are noticeably higher than in Anapa or Crimea. The situation was also affected by the fact that the city's airport was closed several times in early June due to drone attacks and storm warnings, which caused inconvenience for flights. Moreover, many tourists are now choosing foreign destinations - Turkey, Egypt, Vietnam - which have become more accessible. The average check in Krasnodar Krai (excluding flights, for nine nights) remained almost at last year's level - 100–130 thousand rubles for two, ATOR stated. At the same time, hotels in Sochi are forced to offer special offers and discounts to stimulate demand. Fuel shortages, which occurred in Crimea in May, also spread to Krasnodar Krai: its residents in early June began to complain about a shortage of AI-92 and AI-95 gasoline at gas stations, especially in Krasnodar and Anapa. Queues formed at some gas stations. Local residents attribute the problems to tourists from Crimea, where a fuel crisis had already occurred, coming to refuel. At the same time, Governor Veniamin Kondratyev explained the situation by a rush due to 'the difficult situation in neighboring regions.' He assured that there was no fuel deficit in the region. Eva, the owner of a holiday home in Adler, admitted in a conversation with 'Novaya-Evropa' that fewer people are coming this year. According to her, tourists are primarily interested in safety and prices. She also stated that prices in grocery stores and canteens are not pleasing to either visitors or local residents. Natalia, the owner of a guesthouse in Divnomorskoye (near Gelendzhik), told 'Novaya-Evropa' that her facility was not operating last year for personal reasons, so she can only compare the current season with 2024. According to her, there are about the same number of bookings for July and August as two years ago. But June is 'a complete zero.' As Natalia noted, guests are primarily interested in environmental issues - fuel oil in connection with the situation in Tuapse - and safety: threats of drone attacks, missile threats. In the last couple of days, she added, tourists have also started asking about the gasoline situation at gas stations.