By Andrew Warshaw
January 30 – The man leading the Ukrainian side of Euro 2012, Markiyan Lubkivskyi, insists there will be enough hotel rooms to accommodate the thousands of fans expected to pour into the country for the world’s third largest sports event this summer.
Ukrainian tournament director Lubkivskyi says the fact that 80 per cent of fans will be looking for cheaper rooms will help the country cope with the demand when it shares the tournament with Poland in June and July.
Ukraine’s hotel capabilities has been one of UEFA’s constant worries, but Lubkivskyi denounced what he described as “information of a negative nature regarding the accommodation prices” in the country and urged fans not to use unofficial sites for booking accommodation.
“Those who currently offer inflated prices at various unofficial sites should cool down and realise that the crisis has affected the purchasing power of fans,” he said.
Lubkivskyi said less than 20 per cent of rooms contracted by official agencies have so far been booked and most were affordable.
That, of course, could be interpreted another way: fans deciding to stay away from the finals because of the tournament’s unprecedented eastern European location.
But he was keen to accentuate the positive.
“You can find quite affordable accommodation options in each of the Ukrainian host cities with a reservation requirement of at least two nights,” Lubkivskyi insisted.
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