The city authorities believe that tourism development in Moscow is encumbered by a lack of hotels. By 2012 the situation is expected to change. According to the specialists` prognosis, in four years Moscow will have 2.5 times as many hotels than it has now with the main emphasis on economy class hotels. However, some experts are sceptical about the prognosis due to investing in cheap hotels is not profitable and expensive hotels are not popular with tourists.

The annual tourist influx growth in Moscow is 15-20%. In 2006 3.7 million people visited the Russian capital; in 2007 – 4 million. Only by 2010 Moscow is predicted to reach the number of 5 million tourists a year.

The experts express an opinion, that apart from the general lack of hotels, tourism development is also encumbered by the current correlation of the price and quality. According to the tour operators, the majority of foreign tourists in Moscow can be referred to middle class. They are not ready to pay over $US100-150 for a hotel room, but for such a price it is hard to find accommodation in the city that would meet their demands.

According to a recent survey by the International Hotel and Restaurant Association (IH&RA), Moscow hotels are the most expensive in the world. For instance, the average cost of a hotel room in New York is US$60 (40 EUR) while in Moscow it is US$200 (135 EUR). Besides, even hotels of the same network differ in prices in Moscow and the rest of Europe. It can be seen in the example with Hyatt hotel complex. An average room in this hotel in Hamburg is 175 EUR a day; in Moscow the price reaches 600-700 EUR a day.

The situation with economy class hotels in Moscow is no better. The minimal cost of an economy class hotel room starts at 70-100 EUR, while the quality of such hotels in Russia is far behind of those European ones. As one of the solutions, the experts suggest an idea of inexpensive mini-hotels that are so wide-spread in Europe. Russia already has some experience of mini-hotels operation. For example, in St. Petersburg there even exists Association of Smaller Hotels. Such hotels normally unite several apartments in ordinary blocks of flats which can be very convenient for tourists.

However, there are reasons to doubt that this idea can be successful in Moscow – first of all, because of the high prices for real estate. Besides, in many houses it is impossible to reconstruct several apartments for turning them into a cheap hotel. It might take much time, effort and financial means and bring no profits in the end.

In 2007 the Moscow government (again) approved the plan of new hotels construction in the city by 2010. According to the plan, new hotels must appear in the centre of the city, in remote districts, and not far from the Moscow Circular Road. The authorities are going to focus on construction of cheap two and three-star hotels. Hopefully, this time the plans will not fail.

Source -
    vz.ru

Lavrentyeva Natalya