SIMFEROPOL, December 2. /TASS/. Crimea has hit the tourist flow record over post-Soviet years, over 7 million people spent vacations on the peninsula by the beginning of the winter, Deputy Chairman of Crimea’s Council of Ministers and Permanent Presidential Envoy Georgy Muradov told TASS.

"This year, we exceeded the number of 7 million tourists. Crimea is Russia’s second most visited region for tourism and recreation after the Krasnodar Region," Muradov sai.

He noted that, in spite of sanctions, the Black Sea peninsula was becoming increasingly more popular with foreign tourists, including from the United States and Europe.

Earlier reports said that Crimea’s authorities expected to welcome about 7.5 million tourists in 2019. According to some estimates, in 2020, the tourist flow will exceed 8 million people.