Journalists are attracted to the West and South.
Experts note that Ukraine has a huge tourism potential. Reporters understood what direction our country is now the most promising for tourists and as you travel the Ukrainians themselves.
In the framework of the International tourist salon “Ukraine” at the meeting “Travel Talk: prospects of the tourism market of Ukraine” experts have told that attracting foreign tourists, as well as what improvements are planned at local resorts.
More and more foreigners coming to rest in Ukraine
In recent years, the number of foreign tourists in the country increased by 8%. For example, according to the administration of the state border service, the first half of the year 2017 in Ukraine drove 6.3 million tourists, while during the same period last year only 5.8 million
Inbound tourism contributes significantly to the development of the economy. In many countries it is a significant part of national GDP, and Ukraine could achieve such performance, said recently the Prime Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Groisman.
“In many countries tourism plays in the structure of GDP of about 10%. It is clear that Ukraine has to strive for. But I am deeply convinced, and this, experts say that we will be able to quickly increase the role of tourism for such a large sector in the economy”, – said the head of government.
One of the main advantages of Ukraine in the fact that its a tourist destination is incredibly diverse: there are mountains, seas, various motels, castles and monuments. Moreover, today, in virtually all areas, even where there are no mountains and the sea began to appear on travel products. So, for example, Krivoy Rog, now began to actively promote industrial tourism – Hiking in the mines, canyons, etc.
South of Ukraine is becoming more attractive for tourists
If Western Ukraine uses the tourism demand year-round, the South of the country still need to actively develop.
“Before actively developed Truskavets, Morshyn, ski resorts. There are not so many ski resorts, so Ukraine is quite well known to abroad in this category of hotel. But the real challenge is to develop the South,” says commercial Director of tour operator “Join Up” Alexander Alba.
If we talk about the South of Ukraine, the owners of the businesses out there are optimistic. Yet they took as a goal to reach the level of Egyptian, Turkish resorts, etc. the Expert notes that the most popular resort in the South remains Zatoka.
Despite the fact that Ukraine enjoys a good tourist demand, sometimes there are bureaucratic delays at the border. According to Alba, some buses with tourists at the border pass quickly, while others wait for a long time.
The Ukrainians themselves prefer to travel across the country, making domestic tourism in the country is gaining momentum.
“Almost 90% of people who come to different cities – it’s our own people. Domestic tourism we have at a high enough level. Foreigners who come to enjoy the services of the companies and hotels. But Ukrainians are generally using the services of an illegal accommodation – renting apartments, some villas, mansions, etc. So to count them officially is very difficult,” – says the Advisor to the first Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of economy, tourism and resorts Ivan Liptuga.
Also, according to Liptay, despite the large number of tourists, the average amount of spending per day at our resorts is around RS 250-300. And this is an extremely low amount foreigners spend every day about ten times more than the Ukrainians.
How do you plan to change the tourism industry in the country:
Experts in tourism have proposed a number of recommendations that are to improve the relaxation for both citizens and foreigners. In particular, it is proposed:
to develop a program of All-inclusive hotels in the South of Ukraine;
create a loyalty program “Tourist Ukraine”; traveling, visiting different tourist places, the Ukrainians will be able to accumulate points and get discounts;
to insure tourists who use the services of tour operators;
to ask the government to help abolish VAT for Charter flights, for example, on routes Lviv-Odessa, Odessa-Kharkov.
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