What is happening with tourism in Ukraine in summer: expert told what format and destinations Ukrainians choose
Kyiv • UNN
Ukrainians are adapting to new recreation conditions, choosing short trips within the country, mainly to the West and Odesa. Bulgaria has become popular abroad due to its accessibility and lower prices.
Ukrainians are increasingly choosing weekend getaways within the country due to rising service costs and logistical problems. Popular destinations remain resort areas in the West of the country and recreation in Odesa. Among foreign resorts, Ukrainians prefer economical ones. Bulgaria is in the first place. Volodymyr Tsaruk, director of the Center for Tourism Development, told UNN about this.
Despite the war and economic difficulties, Ukrainians do not completely abandon recreation, but adapt to new conditions. One of the clear trends is short trips within the country.
They certainly rest in Ukraine. For well-known reasons. We can say that the number of those who go for weekends has increased... That is, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Accordingly, hotels are well-filled precisely on these days. While from Monday to Thursday – there is a slump even in many successful resorts
Prices for recreation have increased, which is partly due to inflation and a shortage of personnel in the industry. In particular, most hotels offer accommodation with breakfast, and the rising cost of food and staff wages directly affects the final price.
"Not because they want to increase the cost of the package, but due to elementary circumstances... there is no staff, they need to be encouraged. Salaries are rising. And this is what makes up the cost of one day of stay in a hotel or sanatorium," he explains.
However, according to him, prices in Ukraine are still significantly lower than in popular resort countries in Europe due to the efforts of tourism market participants to be profitable and maintain demand.
Among the categories of vacationers, according to the expert, four main groups can currently be identified:
- mothers with children who travel for a long period outside the cities;
- those who escape for a weekend to change the scenery without taking a full vacation;
- military personnel undergoing short-term rehabilitation with their families;
- elderly people who prefer apartments in resort areas: Morshyn, Truskavets, Skhidnytsia, rather than hotels.
Tsaruk added that the disproportion between those who choose short and long vacations "is already becoming smaller." Most Ukrainians currently rest in the West, but interest in the South is gradually recovering.
Several destinations are popular - these are, of course, Bukovel, Truskavets, if we take the resort area. We can talk about Odesa, despite the security situation. We see from the hotel occupancy and the dynamics compared to the previous year that, despite everything, people go to Odesa, although most of them are for weekends.
As for foreign tourism, according to the expert, Ukrainians choose economical vacation options, in particular, the focus has now shifted from Turkey to Bulgaria - due to lower cost and convenient logistics.
"In the first place, as a confirmation of the economy option, we have Bulgaria, it is relatively easy to get there by bus and the prices there are not as high as they are now in Turkey," Tsaruk noted.
According to him, Turkey still remains among the leaders, but traveling there has become more expensive and difficult. Greece is also gaining popularity, in particular due to inexpensive flights organized by Ukrainian operators.
As the expert emphasizes, more and more people understand that they should not postpone taking care of themselves even during the war. According to him, tourism has not yet returned to the level of 2021. The main obstacle is the closed sky. But Ukrainians, despite everything, try to give themselves a chance to reset.
People have really gotten used to the fact that the war will last quite a long time, and therefore they need to take care of their health faster. In particular, short-term trips help to change the picture as much as possible. And this is very good, because health is needed even during the war, to stand firm and have the strength to support relatives.