“The bare walls” of Ukrainian tourism

Every region in Ukraine deserves attention, but the state needs to provide an impetus to develop the existing tourism potential. Turkey may be a good example for us to follow. Thanks to a favorable investment climate that the Turkish government created a few decades ago, this country is now the ninth biggest and eighth most profitable tourist destination in the world.

Some programs to develop tourism have been introduced in Ukraine, but either because it is too early to expect any results or because these programs have not been very effective, Ukrainian tourists are left with two choices. They can spend their vacations abroad — in Turkey, Egypt, or Tunisia, which our tourists find much more attractive in terms of the quality/cost ratio. Alternatively, those who cannot live without the Carpathians will have to shell out a hefty sum for the privilege of contemplating bare walls in their rooms and, with teeth clenched, forgive their homeland for the contemptible services that are being offered to them.

Could the Turkish experience be beneficial to Ukraine? In 1980 the Turkish economy started its transition to a free market. With the economy evolving, the state began to promote tourism. Programs were developed for planning and encouraging investments in tourism. The 1980s were a growth period for the recreation sector. According to the World Tourism Organization, in February 2007 the number of tourists tripled worldwide, compared to 1980, while Turkey experienced a 16.5 increase with the total annual figure of 19.8 million tourists.

In recent years Turkey has also become an extremely popular tourist destination among Ukrainians. In 2006, 487,915 Ukrainian tourists visited the country (compared with 293,459 tourists in 2004). In 2006 every third Kyivite spent his vacations in Turkey. A total of 1,611,909 Ukrainian citizens went abroad in 2005, according to the administration of the Ukrainian State Border Service. The most popular tourist destinations in 2005 were Hungary, Poland, Russia, Turkey, and Egypt. In 2006 they were at the top of the list again, but the number of tourists decreased to 1,453, 690.

The main problem in the Ukrainian tourism sector is the quality of services. This is a key factor of tourism, but in our country this problem is multifaceted. The Cabinet of Ministers approved the State Tourism Development Program for 2002-2010, which singles out dozens of problems requiring urgent attention. Among the most pressing ones are the lack of a unitary system of state tourism administration in the regions, insufficient legislative support, lack of investments, failure to meet international standards, lack of innovative approaches, and a poorly developed information infrastructure. One of the priorities in the state tourism policy is to “enhance the efficiency of the information and communication infrastructure, create a positive image of Ukraine as a tourist destination, and promote national tourism products on both the domestic and international tourism markets.”

A positive image for Ukraine should become one of the top items in the investment budget. At the specialized conference “Turkey: One Country, Two Continents, and a Thousand Hues,” held recently in Kyiv, Turkey’s Culture and Tourism Attache to Ukraine Ahmet Changa said that his country is actively developing the Ukrainian “line.” Advertisements have been placed on 162 billboards and in 20 print periodicals, press tours have been arranged, and Turkish representatives helped create the reality show “Marriage Games” on the ICTV channel.

Some smaller-scale activities include the creation of an easily recognizable logo and a number of high-quality, eye-catching TV commercials that promote Turkey not just as a beach resort but above all as a country with an ancient and eventful history and rich recreational resources. The development of such large-scale promotion of Ukraine as a tourist destination would be right on the money.

During the conference Turkey’s Ambassador to Ukraine Erdogan Iscan said that Ukraine needs to simplify its visa rules with Turkey. He said that Turkish citizens have problems entering Ukraine, whereas Ukrainians enjoy free entry into Turkey — they only have to pay the equivalent of $20 at the port of entry as a visa processing fee. The undue watchfulness of our border guards is another strike against Ukrainian tourism.

Tetiana Shestopalova, the marketing director of a travel agency and a tourism specialist, says that “the number-one problem facing the Ukrainian tourism sector is infrastructure and hotel prices. Prices must correspond to the standard of living in the country, but today they don’t. We need to bring hotel prices across the country in line with the minimum wage. Real prices for hotels located in Kyiv or the Crimea are unjustifiably high. They come close to European prices but do not reflect the quality of service. Prices at Crimean health resorts should be fixed to correspond with the quality of service, perhaps even through state regulation. In the Crimea prices need to be lower than, for example, in Bulgaria or Turkey, which are far ahead of us in terms of services that are provided. The state needs to inspect hotel suites and rooms in health resorts and, based on the quality of service, establish prices.

“Trained personnel-from tour guides to waiters and chambermaids-are of paramount importance. Here it is desirable to develop and implement various certification programs and specialized educational institutions. A state-approved program for promoting and advertising Ukraine as a tourist destination is also badly needed. This kind of program has to be developed at the state level with a unified policy and means of efficiency control. This is a fundamental task of the state.

“As far as international experience is concerned, Turkey’s success lies in the fact that as far back as the 1980s businesses operating in the tourism sector were offered tax relief. This is how Turkey’s tourist boom started. In our country taxation of the tourism sector is a burning issue. It would be worthwhile returning to the practice of VAT compensations because this is a good tool for regulating prices and lowering them in order to attract tourists.”