Ukrainian Vice Premier and Infrastructure Minister Borys Kolesnikov has called on owners of Ukrainian hotels not to set too high prices during the Euro 2012 European Football Championship to avoid losses due to this.
During a press conference in Kyiv on Tuesday, when asked whether the government could influence the process of forming price proposals for European football fans, Kolesnikov said: "Only the market can influence, but I would like to say that as a result of a similar speculative model of behavior in South Africa [during the 2010 FIFA World Cup] some 20% of fans simply cancelled [their reservations of hotel rooms]."
"We will meet with hotel owners in each of the host cities. I just want to warn hotels that overpricing could bring them losses," he said.
The vice premier stressed that income tax had been cancelled for the hotel businesses.
"I can’t see any additional expenditure that could be added to the cost of hotel rooms," he said.
Kolesnikov added that overpricing at hotels during similar events is not just a Ukrainian phenomenon. He recalled that hotels in Vienna increased prices by four times during Euro 2008.
According to the vice premier, the situation with prices at hotels during the championship Could be monitored and a black list of hotels not recommended to Western tour operators during the Eurobasket 2015 European Basketball Championship and other important events in Ukraine Could be compiled.
