Over 90% of tourists, who visited the North Caucasus resorts during the 2014/2015 winter, plan to come again in the new ski season. In the course of an opinion poll conducted by the Romir research holding in February 2015, 94% of respondents in the Elbrus region and 98% in Arkhyz ATRC confirmed their willingness to visit them again. The study also found high levels of satisfaction of tourists with the resorts of the North Caucasus tourism cluster: on the average, it is 80-90%, according to different characteristics.

Commenting on the results of the research commissioned by NCR OJSC, Director General Oleg Gorchev said that, in many respects, they are supported by the figures of the volume of tourist flow at the resorts during the winter ski season of 2014/2015. “At Arkhyz, we have registered a 2.5 times growth in the number of visitors, from 35 to 90 thousand tourists, and the Elbrus region was visited in winter by more tourists than during the last year on the whole.  Given this momentum and the forecasts for growth in demand for domestic tourism, the tourist flow in the coming season will increase - in particular, by our estimates, it will grow half time at Arkhyz. The task of NCR OJSC is not only to increase the capacity of resorts in line with this demand, but also to ensure high quality and a wide range of tourist services matching the interests of all categories of visitors,” said Oleg Gorchev.

The poll showed that the North Caucasus resorts are particularly popular with tourists from the North Caucasus, Southern and Central Federal Districts. At Arkhyz ATRC and in the Elbrus region, more than 34% of respondents came from the Stavropol region, 14% of the guests were from the Krasnodar territory, and the third place is shared by the Rostov region and Moscow - 13% of tourists per each region. In addition to the constituent entities of the NCFD of the NORTH - Kabardino-Balkaria and Karachay-Cherkessia, of which the total of tourists visiting both resort amounts to 11% of all guests - a prominent share in the total tourist flow was made by the Volgograd region - 4%.

At that, the sociological survey showed that the target audiences of the Arkhyz resort and the Elbrus region are markedly different.

So, 91% of respondents in the Elbrus region noted that they arrived at the resort exactly to ski, and only 9% have chosen it as a place of family recreation. More than 50% of skiers in the Elbrus region are the people aged 25-35, and 14% more are the young people of 15-24 years. As the key advantage of this resort, the survey participants named the optimum quality-to-price ratio, the widely known brand of Mount Elbrus, the highest peak of Europe, as a must to visit, and the natural beauty of Kabardino-Balkaria.

As for Arkhyz ATRC, this resort accepts 73% of tourists who come for skiing and snowboarding, and almost a quarter of all holidaymakers is made by family tourists and visitors with children. At that, regardless of the purpose of the visit, tourists appreciate the convenience of Arkhyz resort for a relaxing holiday with your family, and more than 94% are satisfied with the conditions created for visitors with children. Also, as key advantages of Arkhyz, the respondents named the conditions for skiing with children and for beginners, friendliness and customer-oriented approach of the resort’s staff, the high quality of preparation of slopes and the acceptable price of vacation at the resort, including the existence of a family ski pass.

At that, the survey participants on both tourist sites have noted the need to expand the existing infrastructure. In the Elbrus region, the tourists noted the importance of creation of a more convenient shuttle service to the resort, construction of additional infrastructure for accommodation, creation of children’s and training slopes, enhancing the quality of snow cover on slopes, introduction of night skiing services - by analogy with Arkhyz ATRC.

The visitors at Arkhyz in Karachay-Cherkessia also noted the need to expand the network of bus routes to the resort from the airport of Mineranye Vody, the construction of new places of accommodation and catering, creation of the evening entertainment points, increasing the capacity of the rental points and sale of ski passes.
The work on the development of resorts in accordance with the observations of the tourists has already been started by NCR OJSC. In particular, in 2015-2016, in the framework of the Elbrus region, it is planned to build the third stage of the ropeway “Station Mir’ - “Station Gara Bashi”, laying and construction of ski trails, snowmaking system design, and, in the long term, improvements in the Meadow Azau to ensure a comfortable and safe stay of tourists in the area of outrun from slopes.

At Arkhyz ATRC, by the 2015/2016 season, it is planned to build lift for 2400 people per hour and four ski runs of 6.8 kilometres, the capacity of mountain-skiing equipment rent will be increased from 590 to 1600 kits and the number of parking spaces will reach 1300, new ticket vending machines for skipasses will be installed.

There will also be commissioned another 677 beds, the number of seats in catering facilities will increased from 480 to 1250. Thus, the maximum daily capacity of Arkhyz resort will be increased from 3600 to 5000 people, and the increase in capacity of the resort will amount to 56% against the current season.

The sociological survey was held in the territory of Arkhyz and in the Elbrus region using the methods of qualitative and quantitative research among men and women aged 15 to 55 years. The qualitative research methodology included focus-group discussions with duration of 1.5 - 2 hours, the quantitative one included personal formal interviews directly in the territory of Arkhyz ATRC and the ski resort in the Elbrus region.