Alla USTENKO, director of the travel company "Avtopilot":
- The events in Southeast Asia should not significantly affect the vacation plans of Ukrainians – in summer, countries in this region are in low demand. But I believe that the resorts will recover very quickly. I am confident that local authorities, with the help of various international organizations, will make every effort to restore their former popularity.
Alternative vacation spots in this region are simply other islands where everything needs to be rebuilt and equipped. Surely this will be done too, but most likely, more attention will still be paid to restoring the old resorts. Personally, for some time I will not strongly recommend tourists to go to this particular region. But I will gladly organize a vacation for those who choose Southeast Asia independently and consciously, providing complete and objective information.
Traditional summer vacation destinations for Ukrainians are the Mediterranean countries and Crimea. We expect that demand for tours to Turkey, Croatia, Montenegro, and Spain will be as high as before. Possibly even higher, since this summer those Ukrainian citizens who, for various reasons, were involved in the pre-election and then the protracted election race will finally be able to rest.
There is, of course, a small percentage of our compatriots who, due to fear of natural disasters, plane crashes, earthquakes, etc., will for some time, "until everything settles down," prefer to stay home or not go further than Crimea. But this is a very small percentage compared to the total number of those who want to go on vacation and really rest.
As always, vacations under the slogan "Reasonable price-quality ratio!" will be in demand. And in this situation, the choice of holidays at Turkish resorts, mainly on the Antalya coast, still dominates. Perhaps Turkish hotels will raise prices a little, but it will still be affordable. And a large number of flights per week and the opportunity to leave for almost any number of days is an additional point in favor of choosing Turkey as a summer vacation destination.
Egypt will also remain popular in summer – many have already realized that on the Red Sea coast, due to the dry climate, there is no exhausting heat, and you can have a great rest in both July and August. The service there is excellent, and prices are affordable. And poems can be written about the beauty of the sea!
I would like to see the former demand for tours to Crete in Greece return. The vacation there is absolutely amazing. True, prices are somewhat higher compared to Turkish ones, which naturally affects the number of people wishing to rest there.
In the summer, our company, in addition to traditional vacation tours, will also offer sightseeing tours to European countries – both air and bus tours. The latter, by the way, are very popular among young people – for a small amount of money you can see famous European cities. Agree that, for example, a tour to Hungary with visits to Budapest and several other picturesque towns for five to six days for 90 euros is very attractive.
At the same time, tourists stay in a decent three-star hotel, receive excursion services and an accompanying guide-"nanny" ready to answer any questions. There are similar tours to Prague and Krakow. Tours to Western European countries are more expensive, but also accessible to lovers of real travel. And for schoolchildren, we have prepared a wonderful vacation in children's camps in Crimea, Slovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria. A good tradition of our company is to satisfy any client's wish, to do the impossible in a short time. And this summer we will remain true to ourselves!
Tatiana DEMIDOVICH, tourism manager of the company "Avial-tour":
- The events in Southeast Asia will not affect the planning of summer vacations for our citizens at all, since in the summer-autumn season this region is not the most attractive for tourists. In summer, Turkey, European countries (Spain, Italy, the French Riviera, Croatia, Bulgaria), and Crimea come to the fore. And, as we can observe, tourists have not stopped going to Thailand itself – they have just slightly changed their preferences within Thailand. The category of tourists who put the cost of the tour first will definitely not turn away from the affected countries.
As for the prospects of recovery – the hotel infrastructure will be revived very quickly. I think by the next winter season the resorts will be ready. But how much nature will recover – uprooted trees that strengthened the coastal zone, washed-away beaches?.. There is certainly an alternative in the Asian region – the Pacific basin of the affected countries, the "Chinese Hawaii" – Hainan, the coast of Vietnam – Phan Thiet, Nha Trang, in the Indian Ocean – Mauritius, the Seychelles, in general, the choice is considerable.
But, as I already noted, the leaders in summer sales are Turkey and Crimea. Demand for resorts on the Spanish coast remains consistently high. Croatia and Montenegro have already become popular with tourists and will also be in demand. The popularity of medical and health resorts will not decline – Karlovy Vary in the Czech Republic, Rogaška Slatina in Slovenia, Jūrmala in Latvia.
As for pricing policy, it will not get cheaper – that's for sure. Look at any business news: oil is getting more expensive – accordingly, new fees appear in the price of airline tickets. Tickets are slowly but steadily rising in price. High demand for holidays in Turkey creates supply at higher prices, the same with Croatia and Montenegro. But prices for holidays in Spain, Italy, France, and Greece, in my opinion, will be more stable and comparable to last season's prices.
This summer we invite our tourists to visit the “island of dreams” – Madeira. This will certainly be the highlight of the season. For autumn we plan to invite our compatriots to Vietnam and China – these are also new destinations for our market. And, of course, for those tourists who have “already been everywhere and seen everything”, a wonderful holiday on the lakes of Switzerland and Austria – these countries are among our agency's specialties. So even this summer we will not let our clients get tired of rest!