Sustainable tourism in the post-war reconstruction of territorial communities in Ukraine

Abstract

The tourism industry appeared to be one of the most vulnerable to the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in Ukraine. The losses of the Ukrainian tourism economy during the war significantly exceeded the losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The lack of tourist flows to Ukraine, the outflow of investments from the tourism sector, the high level of danger of staying in many regions of the country, the destruction of the tourist infrastructure has become key challenges. In 2022, the revenues of the State Budget of Ukraine from the tourism industry decreased sharply. The incompleteness of the administrative-territorial reform, financial insufficiency, and the unprecedented outflow of human resources with significant losses in the tourism industry actualize the scientific search for reducing the negative consequences of the current crisis. The article aims: Тo substantiate, on the concept level, effective management approaches to the economic, ecological, and social development of sustainable tourism, as one of the directions for the restoration of territorial communities in the post-war period. Methods/Approach: Using economic and statistical methods, the article provides an assessment of the country's domestic economy, which is characterised by a decrease in the volume of real gross domestic product by 11.4% in the first year of the war compared to the previous one, a reduction in real wages, and an increase in unemployment. The use of methods of analysis and synthesis made it possible to assess the damage caused to the regions of Ukraine and to identify trends in the development of territorial communities and the tourism sector. Results: The analysis of statistical reports proves that tourism and hospitality development in 2017-2020 (a pre-crisis period for the named industries) required harmony of interests between tourism business entities and local territorial communities. The hypothesis has been confirmed that sustainable development of tourism will stimulate the post-war recovery and evolution of territorial communities. A cluster-based approach to the initiation of tourism development programs is proposed with congregating territorial communities into four groups depending on the consequences of hostilities and selection of specific focus areas. A "win-win" strategy is suggested as a conceptual background for effective management of the territories' restoration and development based on harmonisation of interests between territorial communities and business. Conclusions: The study is relevant from the point of view of solving the problems of financing the social and economic development of territorial communities through the activation of resources and the creation of a more stable and favorable environment for sustainable tourism.