The cancellation of the tourism tax in Anapa coincided with a volunteer report of poorly removed fuel oil.

The Anapa City Council has suspended tourism tax collection for six months due to the consequences of a fuel oil spill. The beach on Pionersky Prospekt, which was undergoing mechanical cleaning, is littered with fine fuel oil debris, volunteers reported.

As reported by "Caucasian Knot," Anapa will be ready to welcome tourists in 2026, stated Krasnodar Krai Governor Veniamin Kondratyev, announcing the cancellation of the tourism tax for a year. Hoteliers noted that bookings for next summer are extremely low. Blogger Yuri Ozarovsky recorded a video message before his direct line with Putin, asking for permission to open Anapa's beaches in 2026, assuring that there are virtually no traces of fuel oil in the sea or on the shore. However, questions from Anapa were not heard during the direct line. The number of booked tours to Anapa for the 2026 season fell by 60% compared to sales figures at the end of 2024. Hotels and other accommodation facilities are in a crisis situation comparable to the coronavirus pandemic and need urgent support from the authorities, tour operators said.

Deputies unanimously supported the decision to suspend the tourist tax in Anapa from January 1 to June 30 of this year, inclusive. "The measure was taken to support the health resort and hotel complexes affected by the emergency," the mayor's office said in a statement on its Telegram channel.

Volunteers from the "Network, Sieve, Shovel" headquarters reported on the evening of January 28 that small fractions of fuel oil, as well as large, old chunks of fuel oil, were found on the beach on Pionersky Prospekt, covering approximately 2,000 square meters.

"Since May, only machinery has been working on this section of the Anapa coast. It's difficult to say why this field has gone unnoticed for nine months," the volunteers wrote, noting that mechanized beach cleaning has been virtually non-existent in recent months.

According to them, it took five people, who worked for about five hours, to manually clean the area.

"Back in December, the goal was set: to open the season at any cost in Anapa this year. Meanwhile, for at least a month, absolutely nothing has happened. Apparently, we have different definitions of "at all costs," the headquarters representatives stated.

On April 18, 2025, Rospotrebnadzor declared 141 beaches in Anapa and nine beaches in the Temryuk district unsuitable for recreation.