The Crimean tourist season has traditionally been associated with summer months, but today this is largely an outdated stereotype. The peninsula is actively transforming, building capacity to welcome tourists all twelve months of the year. Unique natural conditions, infrastructure investments, and development of new directions allow us to speak of Crimea not as a future, but as an emerging year-round resort. «Crimean Magazine (CM)» examined what specific measures are already being taken to achieve this goal.
All-Russian Health Resort: Foundation for Year-Round Tourism
After the high beach season ends, the so-called health season begins. Unique natural healing factors—from Saki therapeutic mud to the climate therapy of the Southern Coast—create steady demand.
Growth dynamics confirm this trend. While 27,855 people vacationed in sanatorium-resort organizations on the peninsula in January 2025, by August this figure grew to 408,467. Even during traditionally slow winter months, sanatoriums aren't empty: they received over 57,000 guests in January-February.
In the first half of the year, Crimean sanatoriums showed the best growth dynamics across several indicators: the number of vacationers increased by 21.7%, and profitability by 35.7%.
According to «Sanatorii Rossii» data, every tenth tourist who chose sanatorium-resort recreation in summer preferred Crimean health resorts. Thus, during the three summer months of 2025, 212,000 people vacationed in peninsula sanatoriums, which is 9% more than in the same period of 2024.
Next Step: From Sanatoriums to Modern Hotels
Crimea operates 91 sanatoriums, 65 of them year-round, offering guests a wide spectrum of therapeutic, wellness, and preventive programs based on the experience and traditions of domestic balneology.
However, attracting tourists year-round with sanatoriums alone is challenging. The next ambitious task is developing hotel infrastructure.
— Crimea lacks 4-5 star hotels, states Alexan Mkrtchyan, Vice President of the Alliance of Tourist Agencies of Russia.
This problem is recognized at the official level, and its solution has already begun.
— Besides developing the priority sanatorium-resort direction for the republic, we pay attention to developing those categories of accommodation facilities that are insufficient. These are 3-5 star hotel complexes, says Sergey Ganziy, Minister of Resorts and Tourism of the Republic of Crimea.
Experts emphasize: to attract tourists in the low season, full-fledged resort complexes are needed.
— We need to build 4-5 star hotels with large territories—6 or more hectares. Definitely heated pools, possibly covered ones. A water park, large spa center, mini-club for children with attractions, lists the necessary conditions the Vice President of the Alliance of Tourist Agencies of Russia.
The logic is simple: in the low season, people come for comfort and entertainment.
— Summer hotels sell only the sea from June to October. But people want to relax well from November to May too, explains the expert.
As Deputy Minister of Resorts and Tourism of the Republic of Crimea Sergey Gulyuk reported, by 2031 Crimea plans to open 33 accommodation facilities with 20,000 rooms. This will increase the total number of rooms in apart-hotels, sanatoriums, and resorts in the region by 32%. Over the past 11 years, 79 new hotels and sanatoriums with 4,000 rooms have been opened on the peninsula, and 629 facilities have been modernized.
Another promising direction is the legalization of guest houses.
From September 1, 2025, Crimea, like several other regions, launched an experiment for their simplified registration. This is a significant step toward increasing the number of quality and safe accommodation facilities. As of October 29, 201 accommodation facilities in the «guest house» category were already registered in the Unified Classification Registry in Crimea. This process will involve thousands of private owners in legal turnover and offer tourists more comfortable vacation options.
New Directions and Off-Season Growth Drivers
New tourist directions are actively developing in Crimea, many of which are not subject to seasonal fluctuations. Roman Tikhonchuk, Chairman of the State Council Committee of the Republic of Crimea on Resorts and Tourism, enthusiastically talks about the development of mountain tourism.
— Now is a wonderful time in mountainous Crimea, on the Crimean Trail. When it is fully operational in 2030, its length from east to west of the peninsula will be one thousand kilometers, he said.
Great hopes are placed on eno- and gastro-tourism.
— These are our wineries, cheese factories, mussel and oyster farms, farms that produce and demonstrate their products, lists the committee chairman.
Over the past few years, the number of agricultural enterprises conducting tours has increased almost 7 times, and the number of tours themselves 10 times.
In 2025, as one of the pilot regions, Crimea joined the Agency for Strategic Initiatives project «ProEDU po Rossii!» aimed at developing the gastronomic industry. The project's goal is to create new tourist products not subject to seasonal fluctuations.
Investments in Comfort: From Real Estate to Urban Environment
Another indicator of Crimea's growing attractiveness as a place for recreation and living is the real estate market. In the first half of the year, the average cost of purchased apartments and apartment-hotels increased by 40%. Tourists and investors often view real estate on the peninsula as a successful investment, which stimulates the construction of new residential complexes. These apartments are often rented out during the season, replenishing the accommodation fund.
In parallel, large-scale urban environment improvement is underway. Within the framework of the national project «Tourism and Hospitality» in 2023-2024, tourist centers in Alupka, Evpatoria, and Feodosia were developed with a total area of 76.69 hectares. In 2025, a project is being implemented in Saki. This allows for implementing a unified architectural style, updating navigation, and creating comfortable infrastructure for recreation.
Numbers
● Room stock growth: by 2031, plans to open 33 accommodation facilities with 20,000 rooms, increasing the total room stock by 32% (from the current 62,500).
● Sanatorium sector: Crimea operates 91 sanatoriums, 65 of them year-round. During summer 2025, 212,000 people vacationed in sanatoriums (+9% to 2024).
● Leader in dynamics: in the first half of 2025, the number of vacationers in sanatoriums grew by 21.7%, and profitability by 35.7%.
● Therapeutic resources: GUNPP RK «Crimean GGRES» provides therapeutic mud and brine to about 90 sanatoriums in Crimea and more than 200 throughout Russia. In 2024, therapeutic mud extraction increased by 10%.
● Gastro-tourism: the number of agricultural enterprises conducting tours grew 7 times, and the number of tours 10 times.
Guest houses: as of October 29, 2025, 201 accommodation facilities in the «guest house» category were registered in the registry as part of the legalization experiment.Text: Oleg Anfaylov
Photo: Gala Amarando, Crimea Tourism Portal, Mriya Resort & Spa
