Travel Notes

Another One Down

Another faceless Soviet hotel was demolished this fall when the 23-story Sport Hotel, located on Leninsky Prospect in southwest Moscow, was leveled by a controlled explosion. A new hotel is planned for the site by 2006 and will feature offices, shopping and entertainment. The Sport Hotel was opened in 1979 for the 1980 Moscow Olympics.

Moscow recently announced plans to demolish or renovate the city’s best known remaining Soviet-era hotels, including the Rossiya, Minsk, Tsentralnaya and Kievskaya. Construction of the new 200,000 m2 Moskva Hotel has already begun and will be completed by the end of 2007. Construction of a new hotel on the site of the old Intourist hotel will be completed by the end of 2006.

Hotel Prices to Soar

The not-for-profit Russian Tourism Industry Union (RTS) fears that the 30% price hike in Moscow and St. Petersburg hotels planned for 2005 will scare off up to half of all foreign tourists, Kommersant reported. Travel agents said the price hike is likely to affect economy class hotels most. In June 2005, a double room with breakfast in Moscow’s Kosmos Hotel will cost $100 – 30% above summer 2004 rates. A double room in St. Petersburg’s Pulkovskaya and Pribaltiyskaya hotels will cost $140-160, compared to $100 this year. Travel agents said Russian hotels prices are already too high and do not correspond to the quality of services they offer. As a result, many tourists are making vacation choices in favor of cheaper destinations.

Foreign tourism to Russia shrunk by about 15% in the wake of August-September terrorist attacks, RIA news agency reported, citing head of the Moscow Tourism Committee Grigory Antyufeyev. “It could have been worse,” Antyufeyev said, adding that the tourism industry was likely to see a quick recovery. Foreign tourism in the first six months of 2004 was 40% above 2003 levels for the same period, he said. Germans top the list of foreign tourists to Russia, followed by Americans.

St. Petersburg Tourists

Annual revenue from tourism to St. Petersburg is about $4 million, REGNUM reported, citing first deputy head of the St. Petersburg Committee for External Relations and Tourism, Viktor Pakhomkov. Moscow’s tourism contributes 7% of that city’s budget revenues, Pakhomkov said, citing unofficial data and saying that St. Petersburg should attain the same. An estimated 3.2 million foreign tourists visited St. Petersburg in 2003.

Meanwhile, several St. Petersburg travel agents have launched “Putin’s Petersburg” tours, Gazeta reported. The route starts at 2 Baskov pereulok, where Putin spent his childhood, then visits house number 8, Putin’s school. The tour continues to the St. Petersburg State University Law Department, then to Liteyny prospect – the infamous KGB building. The last stop is Smolny, where Putin worked for five years as an advisor to Mayor Anatoly Sobchak.

Moscow-Sukhumi Train

The first direct passenger train from Moscow to Sukhumi (Abkhazia) was launched in September. A ticket in a coupé compartment costs R1,563. The train leaves Sukhumi at 15:34 and  arrives in Moscow two days later at 14:25. It leaves Moscow at 18:04, arriving in Sukhumi at 14:32. Travel time is 44 hours and 28 minutes. The train will pass border and customs control at Vesyoloye station, where the train stops for 30 minutes.

A local train has also been launched between Russia’s sea resort towns of Sochi and Sukhumi. The train covers the 146 km in 4 hours and 43 minutes.

Yaroslavl Four Stars

A new four-star hotel has opened in Yaroslavl, RATA reported. The six-story Ring Premier Hotel has 114 standard rooms, several deluxe rooms and two rooms for handicapped guests. All rooms are equipped with air conditioning, internet  access and personal safes. The hotel offers buffet breakfast and houses an Irish pub. Standard rooms will cost about $100, while a presidential deluxe room will cost $400.

Plane Out, Hotel In

The Tu-104 plane/monument in front of Moscow’s Vnukovo airport will be removed and a hotel will be put up in its place, gazeta.ru reported. The plane will be renovated and reinstalled at another location.

Aeroflot increase

This winter, Aeroflot ticket prices for main destinations will increase $20-40 versus last winter, said Alexander Korolev, head of Aeroflot’s Revenue Management Department, in an interview with Banko information service.