Tourism services in a region in crisis and sanctions

This article represents current tendencies stemming from collapse in the price of oil, devaluation of the national currency, bilateral international sanctions after the accession of Crimea and events in Ukraine, the aggravation of political situation and closure of the main areas of outbound tourism, namely Turkey and Egypt. Such negative situation for the country in whole has some positive aspects of the impact on internal tourism development, especially in regions with favorable climatic conditions and developed material basis for the tourism industry. Primarily Kuban is among these regions. The region for decades has been asserting as a tourism and recreation complex with a unique specialization in sanatorium-and-spa treatment. It has great social and economic potential, developed infrastructure, natural conditions for the international specialization in tourism and for high-quality rest and treatment of Russian citizens. However, the analysis showed that advances in this direction are insufficient. Even with the favorable impact of external factors many development indicators of the region's tourism industry in the pre-crisis time are lower than in 2005. The high cost of services that is beyond reach for many Russian citizens is one of the important obstacles for tourism development. Hotel services and usage of the sports infrastructure in Sochi and Krasnaya Polyana are more expensive than in foreign resorts, but are inferior in services, for example, to Austrian Innsbruck. The state regulation of the tourism industry, definition of the strategic objectives and development of mechanisms to achieve them are in need. Spontaneous development of the complex can cause damage and prevent to use region's temporary factors and advantages in a difficult period for the country.