According to tour operators, 1.2-1.3 million foreign tourists visited Russia last year, which is 50% less than in the previous year.
Operators qualify the current situation in this segment of the tourist market as very serious. "Prices at leading tourist-class hotels in Moscow and St Petersburg will rise by an average of 30-35% next year," said Leonid Isakovich, head of the Akademservis DMS Co. "This means that the foreign tourist flow into Russia may decline by 40% next year." The price hikes are going to hit above all tourist-class hotels. Moscow's Kosmos hotel, for example, will become 35% more expensive, i.e. in June 2005 a two-bed room with breakfast will cost $100 per day instead of the current $70.
Hotels have not denied the expected price hike but neither have they provided any specific figures. Hotel managers cite excess demand when explaining the price rises.
