ENSURING SUSTAINABILITY AND FULL-FUNCTIONING OF THE TOURIST SPHERE IN MODERN CONDITIONS OF ADAPTATION TO THE CHANGING EPIDEMIOLOGICAL

Abstract

Issues of modern aspects of the functioning of the tourism sector of the world and Ukraine are studied. The factors of negative impact of the Covid pandemic on the tourism industry are revealed. The aim of the work is to study measures to ensure anti-epidemiological stability and full functioning of the tourism sector in the face of rapidly changing and unpredictable global situation. The article argues that the tourism industry is considered one of the most dynamic industries in the world economy and international trade in services. In the modern world, tourism is an economic activity associated with the movement of a person outside his permanent place of residence, his recreation with better health, raising the level of culture and education. The author of the article states that the Covid pandemic has hit the tourism industry. Practically, we can say that the tourism industry has stopped. According to experts, the current crisis of tourism can rightly be considered too severe in history. The article emphasizes that none of the experts in the field of tourism does not assume when the collapse of the tourism industry will end, because it all depends on improving the situation with the disease and lifting the ban on travel. At present, most countries in the world are only tightening quarantine restrictions. Uncertainty about the lifting of travel bans makes it impossible to develop tactical and strategic plans for the development of the tourism sector. The author emphasizes that the domestic tourism business is in dire need of state support. Unfortunately, due to the crisis, it does not have such support. The projected global economic recession, the general decline in the level of well-being of our compatriots, and thus their minimization of spending on recreation - together can have an even more devastating effect on the tourism sector. Researched by UNWTO measures to mitigate the Covid pandemic in tourism. The content of the measures of the All-Ukrainian Federation of Employers in the field of tourism of Ukraine to prevent complete stagnation of the tourism sector is revealed. Emphasis is placed on the formation of a new information society, digitalization of tourism. Undoubted advantages of VR-tourism are: reduction of risks of probability of infection in travels; possibility to get acquainted with cultural and natural monuments, museum expositions, tourist routes online; saving time and money for consumers; the ability to make virtual trips at any convenient time. The article emphasizes that the tourism industry is forced to adapt to significant changes in consumer demands, as well as to adapt to rapidly changing epidemiological circumstances. To prevent a complete collapse, the tourism business must be flexibly transformed, ensuring its functioning and overcoming the crisis. The article proposes the main transformational changes in the tourism industry, necessary to ensure the functioning and overcoming of crisis phenomena. These are: domestic tourism, the predominance of individual tourism and tourism in small groups, the growing popularity of ecological (green) tourism, the emphasis on travel safety, ensuring compliance with sanitary and epidemiological standards. The authors emphasize that today there is no doubt about the need to intensify processes and measures to overcome the detrimental impact of the pandemic on the tourism sector of the domestic economy. It is purposeful, coordinated, consistent anti-crisis measures that can rehabilitate the economic sphere, including the tourism business. Based on the main priority - safe operation, the tourism industry must actively open new opportunities for its activities in order to stabilize their activities and prepare for successful operation in the post-quarantine period.