Ensuring the competitiveness of the hospitality industry enterprises

Abstract

The article discusses theoretical concepts, essence and features of ensuring the competitiveness of hospitality industry enterprises. Authors analyzed trends in the development of the hotel and restaurant business in the period 2020-2022. In particular, it was determined that the crisis conditions of the pandemic had a negative impact on the number of restaurants in Ukraine. Also, changes in the political and economic environment of recent times have greatly affected the way companies operate. The shift from a production economy to a market economy and globalization have put companies in front of new realities. In 2019, there were 48,398 of them, and in 2020, this number decreased to 41,139. In other words, 7,259 restaurants ceased operations, which is 15% of the level of 2019 and even less than in 2018. In 2020, the number of business entities operating in the accommodation and catering sector in Ukraine reached a maximum of more than 7,700. In 2021, the figure decreased to 69,800 accommodation and catering companies. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, about 7000 restaurants and cafes have closed, and more than 2000 new food establishments have opened. The hospitality industry market decreased by about 25% compared to February 2022. In some regions, the market decline was more than 50% (Kharkiv, Mykolaiv, Zaporizhzhia, Luhansk regions), and in Kyiv, Odesa, and Dnipro regions - up to 30%. The western regions showed positive dynamics in 2022. In particular, the number of restaurants and cafes increased by about 30% in Lviv and its region, and by about 20% in Zakarpattia, Chernivtsi, and Ivano-Frankivsk regions. The patterns of development of restaurant business enterprises in Ukraine were characterized by both positive and negative factors. The article presents basic proposals for improving the competitiveness of hospitality industry enterprises in modern realities.