The mere thought that travel agencies will offer inexpensive summer tours was more enjoyable than the sweltering sun heat for Ukrainians this spring. Moreover, European travel agencies have said Germans and Spaniards, who take vacations abroad more than other Europeans, are traveling less. 
Americans vacationers also limited their summer travels to Europe. Logically, hotels should be offering rooms at lower prices to fill the occupancy level and make a summer vacation on the seaside more affordable for Ukrainian citizens. Unfortunately, the devaluation of the hryvnia is inhibiting Ukrainians from buying vacation packages in hard currency
Tunis in Turkish disguise
Almost all travel agencies agree in then opinion that the greatest discounts were made by Tunisian resorts. Hotel accommodation here has fallen 25 to 30% in price compared to last year. A similar situation has been observed in Turkey and Egypt. These countries had always earned big money from Ukrainian tourists and today are desperate for our tourists more than ever before, as the number of Germans and English vacationers on their resorts is dropping.
“Turkish and Egyptian travel agencies promised to introduce dumping prices in spring. But we have yet to see any real discounts or hot deals. The owners of the some Turkish hotels promised us discounts of 20-30%, but I venture to say they are setting a realistic price,” said Milana Onysko, Manager of the Department of Tourism and Excursions at the State Tourism and Resort Service. She says vacations in Egypt got 15% cheaper. However, no further decrease in price should be anticipated as the number of people wanting to go on vacation abroad has only slightly diminished. “For example, last year there were nine charter flights from Donetsk to Antalya. This year there are only eight. It is possible that in the future the number of flights will fall to seven, but no lower,” the manager of a travel agency in Donetsk Anastasia Mykhailychenko forecast.
Window to Europe is still sealed shut
“European resorts do not depend on Ukrainian tourists as much as Turkish resorts do. For this reason, they are not likely to offer discounts especially for Ukrainian travel agencies. Meanwhile, they are weary of raising their quotas in hotels this season higher than those they ordered at the beginning of the year and in the spring,” says Director of Voyazh Kyiv Taras Demura.
Italian, Greek and Spanish travel agencies are not reducing prices for vacations at resorts in these countries, but they are making special offers to guests. For example, visa-free entry to Croatia from May 1 until October 31. “There are hotels in Athens, Greece that sell seven-day packages for the price of six. Some agencies are offering special deals such as “book a double room for the price of a single”, says Mykhailychenko. By the way, taking into account that such deals are being offered by fairly high-end hotels that even middle-class Ukrainians cannot afford, they can hardly be called discounts.
Industry experts believe that a real lowering of prices can be expected on economy tours to resorts in Bulgaria and Montenegro, where the average price of one-week tour could cost EUR 300-500 a person.
Mid-season exotica on a rainy islandothers have been affected by the crisis less than the rest. According to forecasts, the same number of Ukrainians as last year will vacation at these resorts. Noteworthy is that the prices for these destinations are practically the same as in 2008. And this is not because the managers of hotels on these islands are aloof to the global economic crisis. The players on this market report that hotels on islands in the Pacific Ocean have slightly lowered their rates, though this does not affect the cost of the tour by much, as the main chunk goes for the flight and the exotic tours are sold without a discount.
However, market players are reluctant to announce prices and the demand for exotic destinations, as it is currently the off-season. “Exotic countries are generally high in demand from the beginning of the fall to the middle of spring. Right now, there is nothing to offer besides islands in the Pacific. On Bali it is rain season and the temperature in the United Arab Emirates is +60 degrees. The only options left are Maldives, Seychelles, Mauritius, the prices of have remained the same,” says Demura.
We will do without booze
The most popular beach destinations have fallen 20-25% in price, though Ukrainians will hardly notice this as they are accustomed to hot deals, which there will be less of this season. Such deals were possible, because the commission of travel agencies was as high as 20% of the cost of the travel package last year. Today, travel agencies have lowered their commissions and tour package prices by 5-10%. This is why the number of hotels and flights that travel agencies earlier booked in advance has fallen. “Agencies stopped offering excess services at the beginning of the year, when they concluded contracts with hotels and airlines for the summer. When there’s no surplus, there’s nothing to sell,” says the director of the Pan Ukraine travel agency Olena Shapovalova.
Crimea, then?
It is, but even there prices are far from anti-crisis expectations. On the contrary, the rates at Crimean hotels are up 10-20% up compared to the last year. Market players attribute such prices to increase in the prices of energy resources and produce, as well as the devaluation of the hryvnia. But there is another reason for this – during the May holidays this year there were 20% more Ukrainians than last year. Many thought they could not afford Turkey or Tunisia. Naturally, demand always pushes prices upwards.
A seven-day package in Crimea will cost around US $500-700, just as in Turkey. But Ukrainian tourists felt more comfortable as there is no language barrier nor a difference in mentality or misunderstandings. Moreover, they are sure this way they are saving money.
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