Ukraine is overflowing with a great number of both widely known and completely unknown, but yet of great beauty, tourist attractions: from the cozy old-fashioned medieval streets of Lviv to industrial architecture and breathtaking landscapes in the South part of Ukraine.
The emerging economies are contributing larger propositions of travelers and becoming increasingly popular as tourist destinations. With seven attractions being a part of UNESCO World Heritage, Ukraine possesses numerous historical, cultural sights and recreational resources, which open significant opportunities in the tourism sector.
Currently, tourism accounts only for 1.4% of Ukraine’s GDP, which presents enormous potential for the tourism sector and the economy.
Since 2017, Ukraine had the fastest rate of Travel&Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI) score growth in the Eurasia subregion, rising 10 places to rank 78th globally. In particular, as the country stabilized and recovered economically, Ukraine drastically improved its business environment (124th to 103rd), safety and security (127th to 107th), international openness (78th to 55th) and overall infrastructure (79th to 73rd).
Chornobyl is a unique destination of particular interest among foreign tourists. A site of humankind’s worst nuclear catastrophe becomes tremendously popular year over year, especially after the award-winning HBO series “Chornobyl”. In 2015 only 10 thousand people visited the exclusion zone, while in 2019 this number increased to more than 75 thousand, half of which were foreigners.
Many foreign tourists are coming to visit Ukraine as Ukrainian cities have an extensive outpouring of Soviet architecture, which is of particular interest among the older generation of foreigners.
Medical tourism is getting a spike due to cost-efficiency, experienced doctors, and high-quality services. Ukraine allows medical tourists to save 40-70% of the costs in their treatment compared to their countries of origin.
Medical tourism is getting a spike due to cost-efficiency, experienced doctors, and high-quality services. Ukraine allows medical tourists to save 40-70% of the costs in their treatment compared to their countries of origin.
Green tourism is a relatively young niche in the tourism sector, however, showing great potential for further growth. Rural areas attract people to get the recreational rest, escape from the daily noise of populated big cities, and open up the authentic Ukrainian village with its history, local traditions, cuisine, and natural beauties.
Rural tourism possesses great importance for the development of the socio-economic sector. It’s not only stimulating the local development of peasant farms, improving the domestic labor market and increasing employment but also enhancing local infrastructure development as well as facilitating the sale of agricultural surpluses and bringing extra income for the farmers.
Industrial tourism is becoming increasingly popular among tourists as it shows the unconventional beauty of the factory sites, mines, quarries and steel manufacturing plants.
The most popular destinations for industrial tourism in Ukraine are:
