DEVELOPMENT OF SUSTAINABLE TOURISM IN UKRAINE IN TIMES OF WAR

Abstract

Today, Ukrainians are fighting fiercely for the right to be Ukrainians, to be a free, independent European, developed state. The time of reconstruction is not far off, so it is very important to be prepared in a timely manner for effective actions to restore and qualitatively transform the Ukrainian economy into the best examples of an innovative competitive economy that the world’s leading civilized countries are trying to follow. This type of economy is, of course, a green economy, circular or closed within the framework of the concept of sustainable development, as a general concept, which was declared at the UN Summit on Sustainable Development in September 2015. Since tourism is one of the most profitable sectors of the global economy and the most extensive, it can be an excellent tool for promoting the principles of sustainable development and effectively ensuring its economic, social and environmental dimensions. Purpose. The purpose of this study is to analyze the attainability of sustainable tourism objectives in Ukraine in the context of war; to identify effective types of sustainable tourism in the current conditions. Design/methodology/approach. In the article, the authors used hypothetical method; comparative analysis in the course of studying scientific sources on this issue; empirical analysis of the achievability of sustainable tourism tasks in our country in the conditions of war, as well as the experience of the functioning of Euroregions in Ukraine and the current state of political and economic conditions in the process of identifying opportunities provided by the development of cross-border sustainable tourism; logical method of cognition in the course of comparing the tasks of sustainable tourism with the opportunities that cross-border sustainable tourism can provide under relevant circumstances. Finding. The hypothesis on the possibility of sustainable tourism development in Ukraine in the context of war is proven. We define cross-border sustainable tourism as a viable type of tourism in times of war for objective reasons, the main advantage of which is the acceleration of Ukraine’s integration into the EU by ensuring the convergence of standards in the field of sustainable tourism, among other things. Practical implications. The results of this research are in the field of interest of scientists, government authorities, territorial communities, and business representatives who are willing to put the idea of developing cross-border sustainable tourism into practice and improve the functioning of existing forms of cross-border cooperation in the field of sustainable tourism. The subject of further research on this issue is the forms and mechanisms for intensifying cross-border cooperation in the field of sustainable tourism through the use of the possibility of accelerating Ukraine’s integration into the European and North Atlantic Unions. Originality/value. This study highlights cross-border sustainable tourism as a promising sector of Ukraine’s economy that can develop in wartime, as it involves the use of border areas remote from the combat zone, is able to realize all the objectives of sustainable tourism, and helps accelerate Ukraine’s integration into the EU.