You're reading: Yalta mayor: City to focus on cruise tourism in 2014

Yalta – Yalta will focus on the development of cruise tourism in 2014, which has been proclaimed a year of tourism in CIS member states, city Mayor Serhiy Ilash has told the press.

According to him, this is connected with the expected doubling of the number of cruise liners docking at Yalta port this year.

“While last year 110 cruise liners entered the port of Yalta, which was 22 more year-over-year, this year their number will rise up to 211,” Ilash said.

In addition he said that twice as much tourists are expected to arrive on these vessels.

“While in 2013 the cruise liners brought over 66,000 tourists, their number in 2014 might rise up to about 120,000, which will be a record for the years of independence,” the mayor said.

He also said he thinks the Black Sea region could become one of the leading travel destinations in international cruise tourism.

“A project to develop cruise tourism in the Black Sea region could be launched with the help of the Organization of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC), which may also promote cultural routes, making them popular. Here Yalta could find a worthy niche,” the mayor said.

According to Ilash, in fact the project was launched in 2013, when travel agencies opened new routes and restored former cruise routes in the Black Sea region.

“Last year the cruise route Odesa-Crimea-Caucasus entitled ‘Six Travel Capitals of the Black Sea,’ which included Yalta, started working. The route must continue its work this year as well,” Ilash added.

As the Yalta mayor earlier reported, the scheduled full reconstruction and modernization of the port, which foresees the development of the infrastructure of the whole port, is to attract the most up-market cruise liners to Yalta.