COMPETITIVENESS ASSESSMENT OF TOURISM AND RECREATION INDUSTRY OF UKRAINIAN REGIONS

Abstract

The competitiveness of tourism and recreation industry of Ukrainian regions is assessed. Based on the methodology for determining the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Indices of countries used in the preparation of Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Reports by the World Economic Forum, methodical approaches to competitiveness assessment in this field at the level of the regions of Ukraine are proposed. The assessment algorithm, variables, and indicators are defined, calculation formulas are given for calculating partial and integral competitiveness indices for tourism and recreation industry of the regions. The assessment is conducted and the results are presented for four groups of selected indicators – favorable environment (three subgroups of indicators: economic environment, safety, demography and labor market with relevant indicators); infrastructural development (two subgroups: transport infrastructure, information and banking infrastructure); natural and historical and cultural resources (two subgroups: natural resource potential, historical and cultural resources); the level of development of the industry (one subgroup: development of tourism and recreation industry). The partial and integral competitiveness indices of tourism and recreation industry of the regions are given. The results of the assessment are analyzed, and the regions with the highest tourism and recreation competitiveness potential are identified. Those include the ones with high natural resource and historical and cultural potential for tourism and recreation activities – Lviv, Odesa, Zakarpattia, Ivano-Frankivsk regions, as well as regions with high economic and demographic potential and developed infrastructure – the city of Kyiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kharkiv, Kyiv regions. The advisability of using mainly assessment indicators and indicators that have an objective dimension is noted. At the same time, problems related to the absence of tourism and recreation in the national classifier of economic activity types and domestic statistics system are outlined. Vulnerability of tourism and recreation activities in terms of safety factors during the war is emphasized.