Crimean beaches will be divided into five categories, and about half of the total number of Crimean beaches will be free to the public, Crimean Resorts and Tourism Minister Oleksandr Liyev has reported.
"This year we’ll use 558 beaches, of which 219 will be free of charge," he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Thursday.
The minister also said the Crimean authorities had initiated a categorization of the beaches, according to which five categories equal to the hotel "star" categories will be determined.
"The categories will be indicated by seashells. Five seashells [will signify] a beach with Wi-Fi service, where there is rather good developed infrastructure, and information screens with current information about state of the shore area. The beach with one seashell corresponds to sanitary norms and has a minimal service set," Liyev said.
The minister said all beaches of the peninsula would go through the categorization procedure.
