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Crimean Tourism Specialists Consult with UCLA Travel Center
Rebecca Beatty (center in dark dress) and Elizabeth Radovsky (4th from left in grey jacket) meet with Crimean tourism professionals.

Crimean Tourism Specialists Consult with UCLA Travel Center

An 11-member delegation from the Crimea, well known as the resort area of the Ukraine, met with UCLA Travel Center representatives May 28.

Gohar Grigorian Email GoharGrigorian

Eleven leaders of the tourist industry in the Black Sea area of Ukraine in the Crimea visited UCLA May 28 for consulations with the UCLA Travel Center. The Crimea is an autonomous republic in southern Ukraine. Representing tourist agencies, resorts, summer camps, and the regional daily Crimean News, the visitors met with Rebecca Beatty, director of Corporate Travel Programs for the UCLA Travel Center, and Elizabeth Radovsky, manager of Corporate Financial Services at the center. Elizabeth Radovsky is originally from Russia and the discussions were conducted in Russian. The group was interested in the overall management of the UCLA travel center. Their visit was organized by the International Institute's International Visitors Bureau.

The UCLA Travel Center makes arrangements for 12,000 passengers a year, of which 1,500 are from the University of California Office of the President in Oakland. Many of the passengers handle their expenses with a UCLA Corporate Card, provided to UCLA travelers free of charge. It allows for charging business and entertainment-related travel expenses to the card, including lodging, transportation, and meals.

The Travel Center does not offer tours. Ninety percent of their reservations are for business trips while only ten percent are for leisure. Asked by the Crimean visitors if they offer any discounts, Rebecca Beatty explained that they have special arrangements with some airlines who offer special deals. The Travel Center is self-supporting from its commissions on the arrangements it make for travelers.

The Ukrainian delegation asked what are the most most popular destinations for the UCLA community. The answer was Venice, Madrid, and Paris. The visitors suggested that the Travel Center should recommend the Black Sea resorts of the Crimea, which is less known in the West but a favorite spot for Russian, Ukrainian, and many East European travelers.

One British website that promotes Crimean vacations says of it:

"On the far side of the Black Sea from Turkey lies the Crimean coast, Eastern Europe's best-kept secret. Stunning mountain scenery, warm sea and a long season of summer sunshine have made the Crimean coastline the riviera for Ukrainians and Russians since the time of the tsars."

And elsewhere in this site:

" Crimea is a country of striking beauty - rolling, fertile countryside, with fruit farms and vineyards in the centre give way to the forested gorges and rocky escarpments of the mountains as you travel south towards the beaches of the Black Sea. And below the Yaila mountains is one of the most breathtakingly beautiful coastlines in the world.
The delegation included:

  • Mr. Viktor Vesna, director, Information Agency, Krelcom Tourism Bureau and Agency.
  • Mr. Pavlo Volkov, director, Crimea Tourism-Health Complex Resort. 
  • Ms. Lidiya Lebedeva, columnist, Krymskiye Izvestiya (Crimean News), a regional daily newspaper.
  • Ms. Tetyana Bezginska, general director, Sezony – 2000 Travel Agency.
  • Ms. Irina Chukhova, executive director, Crimean Association of Travel Agencies.
  • Ms. Larysa Tugusheva, director, Larus Travel Agency.
  • Ms. Hanna Korda, director and owner, Yana Ltd., a family-owned pension and café.
  • Ms. Lyubov Smirnova, manager, Scythia Travel Agency.
  • Ms. Yunona Denysenko, director, Yunona Plus Travel Agency.
  • Ms. Smirnova Ulyana, director, Chernomor-Tur Travel Agency and Children’s Summer Camp Operator.
  • Ms. Elvira Yemelyanova, marketing manager, Krymtour Tourism conglomerate.

Published: Thursday, July 03, 2003

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