In 2024, 251,286 tourists used the services of one of Ukraine’s largest tour operators, Join UP! This is the best figure for the last three years of war: almost 7% more than in 2023 and 58.3% more than in 2022, the company’s press service toldInterfax-Ukraine.
“2024 was the period of maximum adaptation of Ukrainian tourists to travel from neighboring countries. People have realized that traveling from another country, even with transfers, is already commonplace. We have seen an increase in demand for air tours and budget bus trips to nearby destinations. All of this shows the flexibility of Ukrainian tourists who have learned to plan their trips under restrictions,” comments Iryna Mosulezna, Managing Director of Join UP! Ukraine”.
The peak season in 2024 was traditionally the summer season. Most tourists traveled in June and July – 35,544 and 36,229 respectively. The quietest month last year, as in 2023, was February, when 8,518 tourists used the tour operator’s services. At the same time, this is 21.24% more than in the previous year, when only 7,026 tourists traveled, which indicates a gradual recovery of interest in travel even in winter.
Turkey, Greece, Bulgaria and Montenegro remained the most popular summer destinations. Year-round Egypt also remained in the top preferences of Ukrainians for summer vacations. Over 100 thousand tourists chose this destination last year. In winter, in addition to Egypt, where Ukrainians traveled most often, they also chose the exotic UAE, Tanzania, Sri Lanka, and the Dominican Republic. The popularity of these destinations demonstrates the willingness of tourists to invest in exotic travel and discover new cultures despite economic instability.
As reported, Join UP! LLC was established in 2013, with an authorized capital of UAH 72 million 671 thousand. The ultimate beneficiaries are Yuriy and Oleksandr Alba. According to the company’s annual reports, by the end of 2024, revenue decreased to UAH 376 thousand from UAH 16 million 639 thousand in 2023, and net loss – to UAH 217 million 451 thousand from UAH 233 million 341 thousand, respectively.
The brand’s international expansion covers eight markets: the Baltic States, Kazakhstan, Moldova, Poland, Romania, and the Czech Republic. Preparations for the launch of operations in Slovakia and Hungary are nearing completion. Last year, the brand also opened its first international franchise agency in Katowice, Poland.
The U.S. economy remains strong despite increased uncertainty, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chairman Jerome Powell said at an event at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.
He reiterated that the Fed does not need to rush to cut the benchmark interest rate further.
“Despite rising uncertainty, the U.S. economy is still in good shape,” Powell said. – We don’t need to rush; we are quite prepared to wait for greater clarity.”
Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta President Raphael Bostic said Friday that the Fed probably won’t have enough clarity on U.S. economic conditions until “late spring or summer” to continue adjusting monetary policy.
Bostic said it is difficult to predict at this point where the U.S. economy might move given the change in U.S. policy and will wait to see the effects of trade duties, weakening consumer confidence and lower immigration flows begin to be reflected in economic data.
Powell said in his speech that it is “the implications of these changes that will matter for the U.S. economy and monetary policy.”
He added that surveys of homeowners and businesses indicate growing concern about the outlook for the economy.
“We will just have to wait to see how all of this affects future spending and investment,” he said.
Powell also said progress in slowing inflation is likely to continue but will be uneven.
The Fed kept the benchmark rate in a range of 4.25-4.5 percent per annum at the end of its January meeting. The rate was cut by 1 percentage point last year.
The next meeting of the Fed will be held on March 18-19.
The volume of new supply planned for commissioning in the warehouse real estate market of the capital in 2025 is 250 thousand sq. m., the current volume of preliminary transactions in future facilities – about 55%, follows from the research of CBRE Ukraine.
According to the report, of the total volume of future logistics space, 87% falls on the speculative market, 13% – for the needs of owners.
“The use of warehouses for their own needs will further contribute to the market recovery, as tenants looking for large areas are increasingly favoring build-to-suit solutions or buying damaged/destroyed warehouses for further reconstruction. Thus, some of these facilities will present profitable opportunities for sale and leaseback during the active phase of post-war reconstruction”, – says Natalia Sokirko, Head of Warehouse and Logistics Real Estate Department of CBRE Ukraine.
It is noted that the current rate of previous lease transactions significantly exceeds the historical market indicators – 55% against the traditional 10-20%. The vacancy rate in the market is 3.1%, but stable demand from tenants and a significant volume of previous
lease transactions continue to put pressure on the vacancy rate.
“Although some tenants have realized previously postponed expansion or relocation plans by leasing new facilities, the release of space has not led to an increase in vacancy, as high re-take activity keeps it low,” the company informs.
At the same time, the warehouse market will continue to be affected by high energy costs, currency fluctuations and labor shortages, Sokirko stressed.
As reported, in 2024, the volume of new supply in the warehouse market of Kiev increased by 79 thousand square meters. m.
CBRE, headquartered in Dallas (USA), is the world’s largest consulting and investment company in the field of commercial real estate, whose revenue in 2024 amounted to $35.8 billion. Shares of CBRE Group Inc. are traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
CBRE’s Ukrainian office was opened in January 2008 and is part of the company’s affiliate network. In 2023, the Ukrainian office expanded its presence in Moldova under the CBRE Moldova brand.
Poland plans to spend 5% of the country’s GDP on defense next year, and possibly this year, Radio Liberty reported on Friday, citing Poland’s Deputy Defense Minister Cezary Tomczyk.
“This is a huge amount of money that is spent not by the government, but by Polish citizens,” he said.
The deputy minister added that the government wants to create conditions “for every Pole and every Polish woman to be able to undergo military training.”
“It is in the country’s interest that everyone can undergo such training, and it doesn’t matter if it lasts one day, two days or a week, or if it is basic voluntary military service, but the country must create such conditions,” Tomczyk added.
On Sunday, March 9, there will be no precipitation in Ukraine, with fog in the eastern regions at night and in the morning, the Ukrainian Weather Center reports.
Southeast wind, 5-10 m/s. Temperature at night from 3° C to 2° C, during the day 13-18° C, on the coast 7-12°.
In Kyiv, the temperature will be 1-3° Celsius at night and 16-18° Celsius during the day.
According to the Borys Sreznevsky Central Geophysical Observatory. Over the entire period of meteorological observations in Kyiv, the highest temperature on March 9 was +17.3° in 1920, and the lowest was -20.0° in 1915.
On Monday, March 10, there was no precipitation in Ukraine. In the southern part of the country there will be fog at night and in the morning. Southeast wind, 5-10 m / s, in the Carpathians during the day gusts of 15-20 m / s in some places. The temperature will be 0-5° C at night, 13-18° C during the day, 7-12° C on the coast.
In Kyiv, the temperature will be 3-5°C at night and 16-18°C during the day.
Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Vitagro Group has invested more than $50 million in the construction of an oil extraction plant, bioethanol and feed production, and the Fyuche Industrial Hub meat processing industrial park, and expanded its land bank from 60 thousand hectares to more than 90 thousand hectares, according to Roman Kantarovsky, head of external financing projects.
“I would like to emphasize that we are building our agro-processing enterprises at our own expense. We are trying to show that this is real and strive to be an example for others. Vitagro’s strategy is agro-processing, which we are actively and deeply involved in,” he said at the Ukrainian Investment Congress in Kyiv on Thursday.
Among the advantages of this type of business development, Kantarovsky mentioned the prospects of transition from a raw material economy to an industrial one, creation of new enterprises and new jobs, and a more stable economy of the warring state. In addition, the development of the agricultural holding during the war, according to the Vitagro representative, is a clear proof for domestic and foreign investors of the feasibility of investing in Ukraine despite the military risks.
Mr. Kantarovskyi recalled that Vitagro started developing the oilseed business in 2016 with the construction of a small oil pressing plant with a processing capacity of 27 thousand tons of sunflower and 7 thousand tons of rapeseed. In 2021, it was decided to expand it and build an oil extraction plant with a capacity of 100 thousand tons of sunflower and 35 thousand tons of rapeseed. The plant is currently being modernized, and in some time it will be able to process an additional 15 thousand tons of soybeans per season.
The agroholding has set bioethanol production as its second priority area of development, and has launched a plant in Ternopil region with a processing capacity of 75,000 tons of corn per year, which is used to produce 27,000 tons of bioethanol. In accordance with European standards, the plant is being modernized and will process waste from bioethanol production, including bard, into high-protein feed, which is used in livestock farming and reduces animal feeding costs by 5-7% depending on the recipe.
Kantarovsky noted that Vitagro Group has a powerful livestock cluster and is one of the top 3 pork producers in Ukraine with a herd of more than 100 thousand heads.
“We have registered an industrial park, on the basis of which we are now starting to implement a project to build a meat processing plant called Füche Industry Hub. This is a rather ambitious project with significant investments. At the end of the year, we plan to start building meat processing shops,” he said.
Vitagro Group is engaged in the production and processing of agricultural crops, including fruits and vegetables, dairy farming, and pig farming. It cultivates about 85 thousand hectares of land in Khmelnytsky, Ternopil and Rivne regions. In 2022, the company acquired Marylivsky distillery (Nahirnyanka village, Ternopil region) from Ukrspirt.
According to the Unified State Register of Legal Entities and Individual Entrepreneurs, the ultimate beneficiary of the Vitagro investment company is MP Serhiy Labaziuk (For the Future parliamentary faction).
