There are waves by the sea: how Anapa hoteliers help in cleaning beaches from fuel oil

The condition of Anapa's beaches, where the consequences of the collapse of fuel oil tankers have been eliminated for several months, jeopardizes the bathing season, but there is hope for a successful outcome, local hoteliers believe. The demand for tours fell by 60-70%, and some tourists refused pre-booked rooms. Hotel owners clean the beaches of fuel oil themselves, and officials are preparing to replace the sand on Anapa beaches if they receive an appropriate instruction from Rospotrebnadzor. Discussions are currently underway on where to get it in the required volumes. In total, 141 beach areas with a length of about 15 km in Anapa and nine beach areas with a length of 1.6 km in Temryuk district are to be restored. About how to eliminate the consequences and what the tourist season can be like is in the Izvestia report.

"Saving beaches united everyone"

Hoteliers of Anapa, on the eve of the high season, strive to prepare and clean the beaches of fuel oil as much as possible after the tanker accident in the Kerch Strait, the Izvestia correspondent was convinced. Employees of local hotels and sanatoriums began cleaning beaches together with rescuers and volunteers literally from the first days after the disaster of the fuel oil tankers, hundreds of people worked daily, hoteliers said. They have set up their own headquarters to control the situation, purchased manual sifting units, and are constantly negotiating with trucks to remove contaminated sand and with graders to plow sand, since fuel oil can be up to half a meter deep.

So, on the beach of the five-star Alean Family Doville, the sand is now manually sifted through special sieves, the so-called "easels", they filter out drops of fuel oil. There is hope for the bathing season, representatives of the hotels said, but Rospotrebnadzor has the last word.

— Before the start of each bathing season, we must confirm that our beach is safe for guests. To do this, you need to pass an inspection by GIMS (the State Inspectorate for Small Vessels of the Ministry of Emergency Situations of Russia. — Ed.), when diving services check the bottom, as well as Rospotrebnadzor takes samples of soil, water and sand. This season is no exception," said Olga Smolkina, Director of the Alean Collection hotel company.

Difficulties with cleaning arose due to fluctuations in the weather, the hotels said. For example, the end of February turned out to be unexpectedly frosty and snowy in the region. In addition, the winter storm season has led to the fact that new portions of fuel oil have repeatedly been thrown onto already cleaned beaches.

— People stood with tears in their eyes: We already cleaned up everything here yesterday! — the vice-mayor of Anapa Vitaly Voronov told about this period.

Now a shaft has been excavated from the sea, which is covered with a grid on top, which should trap fuel oil. This is a development by Vladimir Kalyaev, head of the Skoltech Development project group. Among themselves, the volunteers call it the "Kalyaev network."

The entire Anapa tourism business is aimed at helping to clean the beaches as much as possible, assured the president of the PCT Ilya Umansky.

— Everyone participates in manual and mechanized cleaning. There is a sense of universal unity. The city authorities, businesses, and concerned citizens have joined forces," he stressed.

"The season can be saved"

On the Central Beach of the village of Dzhemete, testing of another of the developments was recently completed, which some hoteliers of the city are pinning their hopes on. This is a massive industrial wet sand sieving plant. It can process about 100 cubic meters or 160 tons of sand per hour, so in two days it will help clean about 400 m of the beach, said Rustam Sabirov, CEO of RusVal.

— We conducted a number of tests, tested different technologies and reagents and came to the conclusion that the most effective way to remove fuel oil from sand is wet sieving through a 2 mm diameter mesh. We have manufactured the equipment, and now we are selecting the necessary operating mode during testing," he explained.

Now the collected samples of the cleaned sand will be sent to the laboratory.

— It is very possible to save beaches for the season this year. If it is decided that these machines can be scaled, increase their number. We are ready to deliver about 40-50 cars in two months, and we are ready to issue one car every five days," he assured.

There are black spots in the sand on the beach. And on the dunes around the beach, black stripes are visible — it was the wind that brought small particles of fuel oil there.

According to Rustam Sabirov, the machines can operate around the clock, they practically do not require human intervention: you only need to bring up and fill in the contaminated sand, and then take out the collected fuel oil.

— Wet sieving prevents the fuel oil from spreading. We don't dump water anywhere, we have a closed cycle, all the water passes through sorbents so as not to expose the sand to the danger of contamination from water," he said. — We are currently working on the issue of dumping recycled water, because when the installation is moved, the recycled water will still need to be discharged. The final cost depends on whether the water needs additional cleaning.

The option of replacing sand on Anapa's beaches is being considered only if Rospotrebnadzor "presses the red button," said Anapa Vice Mayor Vitaly Voronov. Beach cleaning, according to him, is already at the final stage.

— Two more months before the season. We will clean and vacuum if necessary. But there is always a "red button" that Rospotrebnadzor will press, and we will replace the sand," he said during an expert session of the Russian Union of Travel Industry (PCT) in Anapa.

Rospotrebnadzor will take fresh samples of water, air and soil in Anapa on March 10, Mikhail Zaritsky, Acting Minister of Tourism, Resorts and Olympic Heritage of the Krasnodar Territory, added.

Now, according to him, the issue of where it will be possible to take sand for replacement is being worked out, if it becomes clear from the results of the samples that the path to improving the beaches is very difficult.

— We have quartz sand in Anapa with certain grains of sand, composition, and color. The issue of where to get it is also being resolved: to wash it from the water or to bring it from the quarries. There are quarries within a radius of 50 km, this is not so problematic," Mikhail Zaritsky assured.

In total, according to him, 141 beach areas with a length of about 15 km and nine beach areas with a length of about 1.6 km in the Temryuk district are to be restored in Anapa.

"Booking requests are growing"

The pace of booking hotels and tours in Anapa has slowed down year-on-year, the PCT said, citing booking services and tour operators. Demand has revived in the last couple of weeks amid the approach of the summer season and warming, they noted. The most noticeable increase is during the May holidays.

Compared to the same period last year, the decline in bookings is about 60-70%, said Ekaterina Danilova, director of the Alean representative office in Anapa.

— But today the applications are growing. This year we are preparing for a small depth of sales. It is already clear that this will be immediately before the season or during the season itself. Tourists are waiting for the decision of Rospotrebnadzor," she explained.

The most active, according to her, are booking dates in May and summer. And there are fewer applications for March-April.

At the Multitour company, bookings in Anapa are now about 60-65% lower than a year earlier. At the same time, the percentage of armor cancellations made in October-November at the best prices is about 20%, said Evgenia Kizey, sales director of the tour operator.

— So far we have not seen price reductions in large numbers, although there are isolated special offers, she said.

The average cost of accommodation in Anapa for bookings made since January is 4.6 thousand rubles per day, which is 6% lower than last year, according to the data from the online booking service Ostrovok. On average, hotels in Anapa are booked in 58 days, whereas last year — in 102 days.

— Since the beginning of the year, demand for Anapa hotels operating under the all inclusive and ultra all inclusive concepts has increased by a third compared to the same period last year. This suggests that tourists do not refuse to travel, however, taking into account the circumstances, they choose accommodation options where there are services and infrastructure for full-fledged leisure inside the hotel: private pools, spa treatments and animation," said Anita Gusich, PR director of the service.

In general, for the Krasnodar Territory in the spring, the level of bookings is within the limits of last year, said Georgy Grusha, Director of the Department of Project Implementation in the field of Tourism at the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation.

— The dynamics is slightly worse in Anapa. In the spring, the decrease was about 20-30%. For the summer, we still see a weak level of bookings, tourists are waiting for the situation to develop," he stressed.

All decisions on the possibility of opening beaches are within the competence of Rospotrebnadzor, the representative of the ministry recalled.

— We are waiting for preliminary conclusions about the possibility of opening beaches in March, he added.

Almost a quarter of cancellations or postponements of bookings are now taking place with reference to emergencies, added Alexey Moskin, Head of Marketing at the MIRACLEON SPA Resort. At the same time, about 40% of cancellations occur with the wording "for family reasons", which may also include fears of an emergency.

The number of bookings for tours to Anapa with arrivals in the summer and autumn of 2025 is now generally at the level of single applications, the "Fly" service told Izvestia.".

— Perhaps the tourist flow within the framework of domestic tourism may shift to the Kaliningrad region, the Republic of Dagestan, they believe.

A surge in bookings in the short term before arrival in Anapa can be expected in the summer, when people see that a vacation is quite possible, says the president of the PCT Ilya Umansky.

"They didn't leave us in the covid days"

Sanatoriums also have concerns about the upcoming season. Diluch is one of the oldest health resorts in the Krasnodar Territory, and recently celebrated its centennial anniversary. However, it is currently loaded only for March, and it is still unclear whether there will be enough visitors in April, said Marina Protsepova, Deputy General Director for Sales.

— The situation is quite precarious right now, because all contracts with enterprises have been canceled, and this is 40% of the summer's workload. It is unlikely to load such a scale by individuals, so the situation is difficult," she explained. — Along the beach, we, like everyone else, are waiting for the conclusion of Rospotrebnadzor. We monitor our beach daily, keep it clean, and carry out work. We really hope to receive a Rospotrebnadzor opinion on permission to use the beach and enter the season.

According to her, support measures have been repeatedly discussed with the city and regional administrations.

— We really hope that there will be some support. They didn't leave us during the covid-19, and we hope they won't leave us now. The ideal option would be subsidies for staff retention, because we have a city-forming enterprise, employing 550 people. And the main expense item is the salary fund," she added.

Now the load for the summer is only 20%, whereas a year earlier during this period it was 60-70%.

The Ministry of Economic Development, together with the Ministry of Finance, are working on postponing the payment of insurance premiums for the Anapa and Temryuksky districts of the Krasnodar Territory from the beginning of 2025 to the end of the third quarter, followed by a nine-month installment plan, Georgy Grusha recalled. This, he said, should help businesses reduce some of their staff costs.

— There is also a decision agreed with the Ministry of Finance to return to this issue at the end of the summer season, if necessary. Let's see what happens after the upload and with the revenue. If necessary, we will return to the issue of deferred payments in September and October," he stressed.

In addition, according to him, the administration of the Krasnodar Territory is working on the issue of deferrals in terms of taxes on land, property, and possibly rent payments.

Competitive strategy

Hotels, however, in the face of declining demand and uncertainty with beaches, hope to attract tourists with services. For example, they focus on infrastructure: spa centers with a large number of services, heated outdoor pools, restaurants. Some facilities develop unusual tours, for example, to wineries in the region.

— Anapa's strategy this year is also to compete with other regions in terms of price. This can be done in different ways: the appearance of discounts, sales, the inclusion of new services. We analyze the situation on a weekly basis," Alexey Moskin said.

We have to adjust to the conditions: provide promotions, discounts, add additional services to the vouchers, Maria Protsepova confirmed.

— But we cannot lower the price below the cost price, she stressed.

Alean Family Doville relies on an ultra all-inclusive family vacation, when the price includes a variety of services for all family members. For example, various age-related activities are organized for children all year round: from games to cooking classes and film-making courses.

Elena Moskvina, Deputy Director for Sales and Marketing of the Zhemchuzhina Rossiya children's Sanatorium and wellness complex, is sure that children's holidays in Anapa will be interesting and eventful even if the beaches are not opened. They are actively preparing for the season there, while the sanatorium has already accepted the first shift of children and teenagers from the Krasnodar Territory. More than 5,000 children can rest there at a time.

— An emergency situation is affecting the coastline. There are no prohibitions on the work of children's health facilities in general," explained Elena Moskvina.

Last year, the camp launched a new swimming pool with an area of about 1 thousand square meters. m. It has both paths for sports swimming, as well as a sunbathing and water aerobics area. They want to launch it by May this year.

— Staying on the beach will be possible only with the permission of Rospotrebnadzor after taking all samples. If there is no permission, then children will not be able to swim either," the deputy director of the complex assured. — But I think that Zhemchuzhina is not only the sea, but also a large camp with an interesting program, children will have something to do.

Anapa children's camps, according to her, sent their proposals to the authorities on support measures in connection with the emergency. In particular, they asked for help with loading the camps, Elena Moskvina added. This can be difficult, especially for small institutions, she noted.

At the regional level, it has already been decided to load Anapa camps with children from the region, Mikhail Zaritsky assured. Support measures are also being worked out at the federal level, the representative of the Ministry of Economic Development added.