TERRITORIAL FEATURES OF INBOUND TOURISM IN UKRAINE

Abstract

Objective. The objective of the article is to investigate the territorial features of inbound tourism in Ukraine, analyze and develop measures that will be aimed at the development of the tourism industry in Ukraine. Methods. The main scientific results of the work are obtained using a set of general scientific and special research methods, namely: methods of analysis, synthesis, generalization, systematization, abstraction and statistical analysis, comparative and graphical methods. Results. The development of inbound tourism in Ukraine is influenced by the following factors: favourable natural conditions; rich historical and cultural heritage; availability of regulatory framework for tourism development; belonging to socio-geographical aspects. It is revealed that, according to the statistics of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine, the largest number of foreign tourists was observed in 2014–2017 from such countries as Moldova, Belarus, Russia. Primarily, it was due to the territorial proximity of states, similarities of traditions, religions, lan- guages and related historical and cultural heritage. According to the World Tourism Organization, the dynamics of international tourist arrivals in Ukraine is wave-like, the most observed international tourist arrivals were in 2017 (14.23 thousand people), the least — in 2015 (12.42 thousand people) and the growth rate of international tourist arrivals share in 2016 (7.33 %) and 2017 (6.75 %) and the least frequent in 2019 (-5.42 %). The main factors that contribute to such dynamics are the political situation in eastern Ukraine and the epidemic situation as in Ukraine and in the world. It is noted that in order to improve the level of development of the tourism industry in Ukraine, it is necessary to carry out the following measures as attracting public funds for the implementation of tourism activities, improvement of transport infrastructure and amateurism, paying attention to health and recreational resources and attracting effective tourist advertising.