Ukrainian tourism industry lacks star system
Ukraine must build dozens of hotels and certify rural estates for Euro-2012
The State Service of Tourism and Resorts of Ukraine and various civic organizations are launching a number of projects in Ukraine’s tourism industry. Some projects are aimed at attracting foreign investments for hotel construction, assigning stars to rural estates, and publishing a tourist guidebook called Traveling through Ukraine by Car .
Experts believe that these measures will make Ukraine more attractive as a tourist destination and speed up preparations for Euro-2012. For example, after a number rural estates are evaluated by experts and assigned stars for quality, patterned after one,— two— or five-star hotels (certification to begin next year), tourists will be able to choose the location and price bracket of their rural vacations.
This system will also be a powerful stimulus to Euro-2012. More places will be created to accommodate soccer fans, and rural estate owners are ready and willing to welcome foreign guests.
Kyivites, too, are ready to show hospitality. A survey conducted by the Kyiv Institute of Tourism, Economics and Law indicates that 66 percent of residents in Ukraine’s capital are prepared to house Euro- 2012 fans in their homes, free of charge at that, while 33 percent will do this for a fee, for example, 20 euros a day, and 10 percent of those polled are ready to receive foreign guests for longer than two days.
Experts are optimistic about these figures because this set-up will partially solve the problem of where to house fans in the capital. According to the State Service of Tourism and Resorts, Ukraine is still short of about 20,000 hotel rooms, and 130 hotels need to be revamped. So hospitality alone will not solve this problem.
“Ukraine’s main task today is to build a chain of first-class hotels,” said Yevhen Samartsev, chairman of the nationwide union of civic organizations Council for Tourism and Resorts of Ukraine. “So, on the council’s initiative an investment committee comprised of about 20 national companies with an overall budget of more than one billion dollars has been created. Most of these funds will be used for building hotels. As you know, Ukraine has only seven five-star hotels, the type of accommodation preferred by foreign tourists. These hotels are operating at almost 90-percent capacity, whereas the occupancy rate at one — and two-star hotels has dropped to a mere 30 percent. In order to tackle all these problems at the legislative level, the council has also set up a civic organization that will be lobbying tourism- related ideas in legislative bodies,” Samartsev said.
To increase the influx of tourists well before the beginning of Euro-2012, there are plans to organize a number of tourism- related innovations, including a Visit Ukraine exhibit to be held in the fall as part of the Hospitality Industry forum. All aspects of Ukrainian tourism — domestic, inbound, and outbound — will be highlighted. Experts point out that tourism fairs have long been common practice in Western countries, because these are the best places to get detailed information on a country’s tourism industry.
This problem may be partially solved by the guidebook Traveling through Ukraine by Car intended for motorists.
“This is Ukraine’s first publication for Ukrainian and foreign tourists, which offers 70 motor routes to various nooks and crannies of Ukraine,” said Ruta Malkienaite, head of the Baltia-Druk publishing house. “The guidebook contains information on restaurants, hotels, and rural estates where tourists can get overnight accommodations, as well as on historical and cultural monuments that represent one region or another. We are now preparing an English- language edition that will come out in early September and is intended for foreign tourists.”
In addition to the guidebook, Baltia-Druk has produced a tourist publication entitled Ukraine in nine languages, featuring information on Ukraine’s cultural, sports, and recreational facilities as well as natural resources. Experts note that it is too early to consider Ukraine’s tourist problems as being resolved because, according to the World Economic Forum Report on Travel and Tourism Global Competitiveness, we are ranked 78th in the world.
