Ukrainian-belarusian cooperation in the sphere of cross-border tourism
Authors: Buchko Zhanna 
Published: February 2022

The work deals with specificities of Ukrainian/Belarusian cross-border cooperation. The article reveals the main theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of cross-border tourism between Ukraine and Belarus. To begin with, legislative and regulatory frameworks that permitted functioning of Ukraine and Belarus within the Euro-Region Bug have been described, and key literature sources related to topicality and efficiency of cross-border tourism development were analyzed.
The goal of this paper is an exposure of tendencies at the market of Ukrainian- Belarusian transboundary tourism that envisages the analysis of statistical indexes of the Ukrainian- Belarusian tourist streams. Major focus was thus given to disclosure of trends in Ukrainian-Belarusian cross-border tourism, which presupposed the analysis of statistical data related to tourism flows. The figures of the last-decade Ukrainian and Belarusian outbound and inbound tourism are presented and discussed. Methodology of work consisted in systematization and synthesis of statistical data in relation to the indexes of tourist streams between Ukraine and Belarus. Their structure and dynamics are analyzed.
The scientific novelty of work is an analysis of tendencies of transboundary tourist streams of Ukraine-Belarus at the international tourist market. Practical meaningfulness of research consists in possibility of introduction of the got results in development of regional strategies and programs of development of tourism.
Processes and dynamics of transboundary collaboration of Ukraine and Belarus are investigational in industry of tourism. Basic attention is spared to the analysis of dynamics of tourist streams between Ukraine and Belarus for 12 years (2006-2017). The indexes of outbound and entrance tourism of Ukraine and Belarus are analyzed, modern tendencies at the market of tourist services within the framework of transboundary collaboration. Basic obstacles, prospects and advantages of transboundary collaboration, are certain between Ukraine and Belarus in industry of tourism.
As was established, tourism flows from Ukraine to Belarus underwent significant changes in the 12 years was quite stable in the range of 1.3-1.5 million people. The greatest departure intensity was observed since 2011 with average annual gain by 200-300 thousand people and reached a maximum in 2013 of 1,738,907 people. Instead, the Belarus-to-Ukraine direction is specific for instability throughout the whole period of observations.
It was 2,1–3,4 million Belarusians who annually visited Ukraine in 2006–2008. In particular, organized tourism shared 5% out of the whole flow in 2006. Beginning from 2008, this share declined to 1 % and stayed unchanged through the next five years. Insignificant decrease in tourist arrivals to Ukraine was in 2009-2010. The next 3 years witness some growth of tourist flows at a rate of 300-400 thousand people annually on the average. Since all present-day trends observed in the market of cross-border tourism services are connected with realization of programs for cross-border cooperation, the effect of such programs (in particular, those to support implementation and development of recreation/tourism infrastructure in Volyn region in Ukraine and the Brest region in Belarus) was assessed.
It was established that both regions possess considerable natural, historic-cultural and architectural potentials that are well worth the efforts to develop tourism infrastructure and realize cross-border routes. Perspective directions of cross-border tourism development were outlined to be as follows: educational tourism with accentuation on monuments of history, archaeology, culture and ethnography; religious tourism; event tourism; green rural tourism; ecotourism; treatment/health-improving tourism.