Fuel shortage sinks Crimea tourism
Gas station line in occupied Crimea, June 2026 (Photo: REUTERS/Stringer)
A fuel shortage in Russian-occupied Crimea
has prompted widespread cancellations of hotel bookings, Russian propaganda
outlet RBC reported on June 15, citing industry sources.
Olena Shtringel, director of Russian tour company TurEtno, said a wave of mass cancellations has been under way since the start of the summer season. She told RBC that about 80% of already booked arrivals for June were canceled, and roughly 50% of bookings for July and August were scrapped. New bookings are still being made but are concentrated in August and September, she said.
Shtringel said active summer bookings began in late 2025 and that sales had reached 60% to 70% of plan by the May holidays. But after fuel problems emerged, cancellations surged. She said tour operators are refunding customers the full cost of trips, including their own commissions.
Hotel operators described similar trouble. The Rassvety‑Zakaty hotel in Bakhchysarai said cancellations during the 10 days of the fuel crisis exceeded the total for all of last year. Occupancy was about 30% in June compared with expected levels of 65% to 70%, the hotel said. The hotel offered guarantees to refuel guests’ cars, but that worked only in isolated cases.
Guesthouses near Alushta reported even steeper losses.
Owners said as many as 90% of June bookings were canceled: effectively, only
one in 10 expected guests is arriving.
The military war may be swinging in our favor, but the information war continues.
Just as an army needs soldiers, so does a free society need its journalists to ensure that people have access to honest, trustworthy voices to understand the world around them.
For the past five years, The New Voice of Ukraine has been working tirelessly to push back against Russian narratives and defend democracy. But we cannot do it alone.
Please consider supporting us on Patreon for just $5 a month – your donation does directly to supporting journalists and ensuring that this front of the infowar says solid and defended.
Thank you.
Follow us on Twitter, Facebook and Google News
