Ukraine has become a member of the European community of national hospitality industry associations HOTREC, the press service of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine has reported.
Membership in HOTREC will allow Ukraine to integrate into the European tourism and HoReCa community, the agency said on Facebook.
The vaccination boosted tourism and began returning travelers to historic cities, Fabrizio Orlando, Global Industry Relations Associate Director at Tripadvisor, the world’s largest travel website, said.
“As expected, vaccination has become a factor in the activation of tourism both domestically and internationally. Some 48% of those surveyed by us in May 2021 reported that they began to plan a trip precisely after receiving the first dose of the vaccine,” he said at the IV International Hospitality Conference, which took place in Parkovy Congress and Exhibition Center on June 18.
According to a Tripadvisor study, 80% of those surveyed confirmed that vaccination was a factor in the decision to travel throughout the country, and 91% – across the world. Among Tripadvisor users, the vaccinated were more active in planning and booking international travel (34% and 21%) than the unvaccinated (25% and 5%, respectively).
Regarding domestic tourism, unvaccinated people are more actively interested in such locations (51% versus 47% of requests from vaccinated people), but at the same time they book less (19% versus 32%).
Preferences are also badly different, in particular, vaccinated travelers are more bold about places with a mass congestion.
At the same time, unvaccinated travelers in the summer of 2021 choose first of all beach vacations (28% of requests), then outdoor activities (25%), urban tourism only in third place (24%).
According to the study, vaccinated people miss the cities – 32% of requests are related to tours to historic cities. Beach recreation takes second place (26%), while outdoor activities gained 20%.
According to Tripadvisor, the most active among those choosing international destinations are tourists from countries with a large proportion of the vaccinated population: Germany, France, and the U.S. “The undisputed leader is Germany, where two-thirds plan to travel to other countries,” Orlando said.
TripAdvisor is the world’s largest travel website with 43 markets and 22 languages. TripAdvisor is headquartered in Needham, Massachusetts, USA. Subsidiaries and affiliates of Tripadvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP) own and operate a portfolio of online travel brands and companies operating across a variety of websites and apps including TripAdvisor, Airfarewatchdog, BookingBuddy, Cruise Critic, Family Vacation Critic, FlipKey, GateGuru, Holiday Lettings, Holiday Watchdog, Independent Traveler, Jetsetter, lafourchette, Niumba, OneTime, SeatGuru, SmarterTravel, Tingo, Travel Library, TravelPod, Viator, and VirtualTourist.
HISTORIC CITIES, TOURISM, TRAVELERS, TRIPADVISOR, VACCINATION
The State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine intends to ask for an increase in funding to UAH 700 million, and will also initiate a change in the public procurement for marketing, Head of the agency Maryana Oleskiv has said.
“This year it is enough [UAH 100 million for the development of the tourist potential of Ukraine], since the agency starts using funds with a five-month delay. But in general, this money will not be enough for a large-scale advertising campaign, especially in TV. There is no need to do it, because the TV channels already pick up the content about Discover Ukraine, then abroad it is necessary. But there is not enough money for this, because, for example, a week of digital advertising on the BBC costs $100,000, and even more expensive on TV,” Oleskiv said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
She said that next year more funds are needed to develop the tourism potential, since Ukraine is not competitive, if we compare, for example, how much Turkey or Georgia spend on such needs.
“For 2021, we plan to give a budget request for UAH 700 million. But here it is worth emphasizing that if we cannot make changes to public procurement and carry out marketing activities a little differently than provided by the ProZorro platform, it will be difficult for us even to use the existing funds,” Oleskiv said.
According to her, given the lengthy procedures for approval and coordination of various documents, which took the agency more than five months, the agency is only now starting to announce tenders for the promotional campaign.
“This model is ineffective for the marketing of the country. Everything must be stable. We cannot stop for six months and not engage in promotion. There must be planning for at least two or three years, the possibility of flexible use of the budget, depending on any changes,” she added.
The head of the State Agency for Tourism Development said that the existing system of public procurement does not allow doing this, which, in turn, greatly complicates the marketing of Ukraine in general.
“Therefore, we will initiate a conversation about amendments to the public procurement law to make a different procedure for marketing procurement. It may need to be some kind of supervisory board from different people from creative fields, or, for example, a tender for one agency per year, which would work with this product within the allocated budget according to a certain plan, changes to which would be made in agreement with this supervisory board. This should be a completely different approach than what exists now,” Oleskiv said.
Head of the State Agency for Tourism Development Maryana Oleskiv has said that it is very safe for tourists in Ukraine, but there may be low tolerance to cultural specifics.
“I think that Ukrainians are really very tolerant, but there are different people. This is not about danger. It is very safe for tourists in Ukraine. Here we are talking about a possible certain low tolerance to cultural specifics, which can leave an unpleasant impression about the country,” Oleskiv said in an exclusive interview with Interfax-Ukraine.
Also, according to her, there are stories of overpricing in the service sector.
“We need to convey the following to people: that when a foreign tourist comes to them, they can earn $100, or they can inflate the price and earn $200. But then this tourist will not return to you, and ten more people will not come on his recommendation, who could spend another $100. When you come to the country, everything around is delicious and people are hospitable, you feel that there is a positive attitude towards you, you want to return. But when you feel that they want to cheat you everywhere, you do not want to come there again and tell everyone about it,” she said.
In addition, Oleskiv announced that this week she would meet with members the Ministry of Infrastructure to develop a systematic solution to the problem of illegal taxis near airports and train stations.
“Now the question arises who should control this situation, either the State Service of Ukraine for Transport Safety or the National Police. Therefore, clear control mechanisms need to be worked out so that illegal taxis are not able to work in these zones. This is a matter of the country’s image, therefore, taxi operations should be transparent, convenient, understandable for foreigners, safe, with a high level of service,” the head of the agency said
As of Friday, May 14, the Greek government did not make a decision on allowing Ukrainian citizens to enter the country for tourist purposes, the Ukrainian Embassy in Greece reported.
“As of May 14, 2021, the Greek government has not made a decision on the entry of Ukrainian citizens into Greece for tourist purposes!” the embassy said on its page on Friday.
The embassy informed that changes in the regime of entry of Ukrainian citizens to Greece will be immediately posted on the website and Facebook page of the Ukrainian Embassy in Greece.
As reported, in mid-April, the Greek authorities canceled the compulsory quarantine for travelers from the EU and the Schengen area. In addition, the quarantine was canceled for those entering from the UK, U.S., UAE, Serbia and Israel.
Thanks to the signing of the Joint Declaration of Intent on cooperation in respecting the rights and safety of tourists between Ukraine and Turkey, the parties will be able to simplify the border crossing rules for citizens of both states, as well as increase the number of flights between the countries, Prime Minister of Ukraine Denys Shmyhal said on Sunday.
“This declaration, in particular, makes it possible to simplify border crossing rules for citizens of both states, exchange vaccination systems, increase the number of flights between countries, expand the availability of tourist audio guides in Ukrainian and Turkish, and develop cooperation to attract investment in tourism and resorts,” the Prime Minister said on Facebook.
He recalled that the document was signed by Minister of Culture and Information Policy Oleksandr Tkachenko during a meeting with Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey Mehmet Nuri Ersoy.
As reported, on April 27, Ukraine and Turkey signed a memorandum on strengthening cooperation in the tourism sector.
