It looks as if strategic plans of the State Tourism Administration of Ukraine to turn domestic tourist industry into a powerful economy sector (recently The Day was told about this by a guest of the newspaper, head of Administration Valery Tsybukh) are destined to come true. Anyway, the process has begun: last Monday the Ukrainian House hosted a presentation of the Known Ukraine all-Ukrainian mission. Its name speaks for itself: the mission’s goal is to draw attention to our country as promising in terms of tourism, trying to awake interest in as many foreign investors as possible and broaden the capacities of domestic tour operators in their work with tourists from Western Europe.
The mission’s program is based on a complex research of the quality of apprehending Ukraine by foreign community held in nineteen countries. Its conclusions are far from comforting: our motherland is still terra incognita for even those politicians, journalists, and experts who specialize in Eastern European issues; apprehending Ukraine is based mostly on negative stereotype formed as a result of a series of scandals in this country; Ukraine is among most passive post-Soviet states in Eastern Europe in terms of informing the world on its reality, strivings, and prospective. In Mr. Tsybukh’s view, travel business gives the best fit for deflating myths, not to mention the possibility of significant profits for the state treasury: suffice it to recall that around forty countries fill their treasuries mostly owing to tourism.
The mission’s first goal is forming interest in Ukraine. For this task over thirty journalists from eight European countries specializing in tourism issues were invited to admire the scenery of the Crimean seacoast. In his farewell speech to the guests President of the Mission Leonid Kravchuk expressed his hope that today’s Ukrainian problem will not prevent them from seeing the changes that took place in Ukraine in the last ten years. “However, we by no means intended to invite you for writing only good things about us,” he noted rather tactfully, urging the journalists to be not one-sided but objective in their appreciation of our country’s potential. Member of the Mission’s Supervisory Board, Head of the State Tax Administration of Ukraine Mykola Azarov, on the contrary, wished the guests to see more positive things: “We will speak of Ukraine’s problems with Ukrainians.” He also regretted that this time foreign journalists will visit only the Crimea and won’t be able to see another prospective region, the Carpathians. Personally Mr. Azarov, who has visited them for the first time, was ineffably impressed by the Carpathian Mountains.
Generally speaking, the process of reforming the domestic tourist business is entering a new phase. The need for changes can be confirmed by some figures: in spite of the fact that Ukraine takes advantage from its tourist potential only by one third, related sectors bring 10% of GDP, while tourism itself gives 1.5% or 21 billion hryvnias per year. Another cogent argument is that Turkey marks $ 65,000,000 for advertising only, while Great Britain allots even more, г 80 million: by British experts’ estimates, every pound spent on advertising brings twenty pounds in profits.
The seriousness of intentions of domestic “missionaries” is obvious even from the membership of the organization’s management, including Vice Premier Volodymyr Semynozhenko, President of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine Borys Paton, former vice premiers Vitaly Masol and Oleh Slepichev, former minister of foreign economic connections Valery Kravchenko, member of the National Council on Television and Radio Broadcasting Volodymyr Hranovsky, et. al. Besides, an interfractional union of 150 deputies works in Verkhovna Rada, aimed at standing up for the business’s interests on legislative level.
However, in spite of the grandeur of the scale, unfortunately, the range of problems is no less grandiose. The existence of points of interest does not guarantee mass interest to them: in addition to publicity, they require quality “packing.” Currently Ukraine has to reconstruct around 95% of its hotels, simplify visa procedure, construct 20- 25,000 motels, put in order the roads, primarily the ones of international significance (recall that four out of nine Europe’s transport corridors go through our country’s territory). The latter necessity alone will cost, according to road building organizations, 6,3 billion hryvnias per year.
