IRAN: Iranian Tourists Visit Krasnodar Territory Resorts

About 3,000 tourists from Iran have spent their vacations at resorts in the Krasnodar Territory in 2015, Yevgeny Kudelya, minister of Resorts and Tourism of the Krasnodar Territory, said.

The region continues to attract foreign holidaymakers, he said. In January-September 2015, 700,000 foreign citizens, including tourists, entered the Krasnodar Territory, according to the Federal Security Service (FSB).

This accounts for about 10 percent of all tourists who stayed here. The number of foreign tourists compares with 2014 Winter Olympic Games statistics. In 2015, direct flights linked Iran with the region, with travel agencies actively selling vouchers and tours to local landmarks.

“Entire families come and choose expensive tours. About 3,000 Iranian citizens have visited Kuban resorts this year. We’re confident that they will arrive next year, but there is also the issue of regular flights,” Kudelya noted.

Cheaper and more profitable flights are possible if Iranian airlines enter the local market, he added.
“We need to bring other airlines here, including competitors, because flag carriers are hampering the development of the resort sector and hurting investment,” Kudelya stressed.

It is also an obstacle to a project to attract more Chinese tourists, he noted.

“We’re still seeing few Chinese tourists due to high air ticket prices. The project is expanding but not as fast as we would like,” he noted.
Kudelya added that the region was primarily hosting tourists from other former Soviet republics – Ukraine, Armenia and Belarus. The majority of non-CIS tourists arrive here from Turkey, the Philippines, Germany, Italy and India.