REGIONAL VECTORS OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN SOUTH-EASTERN UKRAINE: A PRACTICAL ASPECT
Authors:   National University "Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic", Shelemetieva Tetiana , Trokhymets Olena ,   Classic Private University
Published: February 2025

The article examines the regional experience of sustainable tourism development in the southeastern regions of Ukraine before and during martial law. It is noted that the tourism industry of Ukraine continues to develop in difficult military-political conditions due to adaptation to new challenges, internal resources, international support and national unity. The current problems of sustainable tourism development in the regions of southeastern Ukraine are identified. It is important that tourism in the region develops in accordance with the principles of sustainable development, thereby preserving natural and cultural resources for future generations and reducing the negative impact on the environment. The dynamics of tax revenues from the tourism industry in the southeastern regions of Ukraine for the first half of 2021-2024 was analyzed. It is noted that the analysis of the dynamics of tax revenues from the tourism industry is an important tool for assessing the effectiveness of tourism development and its impact on the economy of a country or region. It allows us to assess how large the contribution of the tourism industry to the general budget, as well as to the structure of the economy of a country or region. It is noted that according to the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine, tax revenues from the tourism industry in the southeastern regions of Ukraine increased in the first half of 2024. The Odessa Region leads in terms of revenue (UAH 60.6 million), and Zaporizhzhia Region leads in terms of growth (growth rate +150%). This is explained by the fact that, firstly, tourist flows within the country have increased, and secondly, despite the difficult security conditions and economic difficulties, the southeastern regions of Ukraine are trying to maintain their tourist attractiveness. Several main areas are highlighted that these regions are focusing on to support and restore tourism: they focus on domestic tourism by promoting local attractions, natural landscapes and cultural heritage through online platforms, social networks and advertising; they stimulate local entrepreneurs to develop tourism infrastructure through grants, subsidies and other forms of support. And this, in turn, contributes to the creation of new jobs, the preservation of cultural traditions and the development of business in wartime conditions. The main factors influencing the formation of regional policy for sustainable tourism development are identified and it is substantiated that in modern conditions, political, legal factors, security and stability are of particular importance. It is substantiated that security is a critically important factor for the development of tourism in the regions. It is proven that despite the difficult security conditions and economic difficulties, regions are trying to maintain their tourist attractiveness through an integrated approach that takes into account all the outlined factors. Monitoring of modern tourism development programs in the southeastern regions of Ukraine was carried out in order to determine their general goal, features of the territories, material base of regional development of tourism activities, priority types of tourism, tourism potential, ways and means of solving the identified problems. It was noted that each region has its own specific problems in economic development, in the socio-cultural sphere, different conditions of socio-economic situation and different prospects for development depending on natural conditions, structure of the economy, degree of concentration of industry. The research and solution of regional development problems is possible with the integrated approach implication. It is proved that monitoring will allow to assess how successfully the set goals and objectives of the programs are being fulfilled, as well as to timely identify problems, shortcomings or inconsistency with the intended goals of sustainable tourism development in modern conditions. The conducted study of regional vectors of sustainable tourism development in the southeastern regions of Ukraine will allow obtaining a number of important results and conclusions that will contribute to the effective development of the tourism industry in this region, taking into account modern challenges and opportunities.