In the first nine months of 2016, about 4.9 million travelers visited Crimea. This is 24.2% more compared to the same period in 2015, according to the ministry of resorts and tourism of the region which reported on the amount of tourists in Crimea.
Most visitors (43%) who came to the region to spend their holiday chose to stay on the southern coast. The western coast was preferred by 33.5% of the tourists in Crimea, while 18.5% of them chose the eastern coast for their vacation. The remaining 5% visited other regions.
The ministry reported that about 1,116 million travelerrs stayed in collective accommodation facilities since the beginning of the year. In September, the average occupancy rate of guesthouses, sanatoriums and hotels was 48.2%.
A large part of tourists in Crimea (42%) arrived on the ferry across the Kerch Strait, which separates the peninsula and “mainland” Russia. 40% of visitors travelled by airplane. The rest (18%) used other types of transport.
The Ministry of Tourism of Crimea expects 6 million visitors overall in 2016, while last year the inflow was 4.6 million.