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ZHR: Fewer People Visiting High Tatras than in Previous Years
Sunday 03 January 2010 Zoom in | Print page
Poprad, January 3 (TASR) - The accommodation capacities of larger hotels in High Tatras (Presov region) are more or less filled, whereas smaller boarding houses face a more difficult situation, Hotels and Restaurants Union (ZHR) chairman Jozef Bendzala told TASR in an interview.
In general, the High Tatras area is enjoying fewer tourists at the height of winter season than in previous years.
Bendzala attributes this to the fact that people with lower income don't have many work securities due to pending lay-offs, while the recession continues. "These people are not likely to come spend their holidays on the slopes, they mostly stay at home. Hence the High Tatras isn't seeing that many visitors," said Bendzala.
Gradually, foreign tourists are coming in, especially Poles and clients from Russian-speaking countries. Some have arrived on private airplanes, others took charter flights. Meanwhile, Slovaks enjoy holidays until January 11 (the day school resumes) and, according to Bendzala, some plan to prolong their vacations in the Tatras after New Year's Eve.
Bendzala thinks there is a number of reasons behind the lower profits for hotels. One being the global economic crisis - the tourists are more likely to spent a summer holiday at the sea rather than a winter holiday. And then again, the ski centres in Tatras still suffer from a lack of snow.
"It's also important to improve the quality of services rendered and the infrastructure," claimed Bendzala. The hotel owners dropped their prices this year, but other matters regarding customer services still need to be addressed.
"In 2007, almost 18,000 people made a visit to the Tatras. This certainly won't be the case this year, the drop in visiting tourists is evident," said Bendzala.
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