Entry for Ukrainians has already been opened in 25 countries amid coronavirus (COVID-19) disease, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said.
“At the recent briefing, I announced 23 countries that Ukrainians could go to. There are 25 counties now. The Bahamas (I agree that it is distant place, but attractive for travelers) and Lebanon (less popular place for Ukrainian travelers) are added,” Kuleba said at an online briefing on Tuesday.
Earlier, the minister named 23 countries that Ukrainians can also visit: Turkey, Serbia, Albania, Northern Macedonia, Montenegro, Belarus, Great Britain, the United States, Mexico, Egypt, Tunisia, the Republic of Korea, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Kenya, Zambia, Tanzania, Burundi and the Seychelles.
The minister spoke about the resource tripadvisor.mfa.gov.ua, which was developed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, where people can get the most complete information about which country and by what rules entry is allowed.
Kuleba spoke about the rules of entry into countries that are popular among Ukrainians.
“Turkey: it is necessary to undergo a medical examination at the border, in case of COVID-19 symptoms, do a free PCR test, have insurance policy for COVID-19 disease, you can buy it online or from a tour operator, or directly at the airport. Entry into Serbia is allowed without restrictions. The result of the PCR test or the obligation to pass a 14-day lockdown is necessary,” he said.
The foreign minister said that the condition for obtaining a permit to enter Croatia for those who are going for tourist purposes is also the presence of a confirmation of the booking the hotel or apartment.
“Entry into Montenegro is also a popular vacation destination and is allowed, but for those who leaving Serbia, a 14-day observation in a lockdown facility is required. The Bahamas: prior to departure, permission must be obtained on the Bahamas Travel Agency’s website and on arrival you must show the results of a negative test. Tunisia: the result of the PCR test and lockdown from 7 to 14 days are required,” Kuleba said.
Deputy Foreign Minister of Ukraine Vasyl Bodnar and Turkish Ambassador to Ukraine Yagmur Guldere have agreed to start negotiations on resuming air travel and tourist trips between the two countries, the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine reports.
“Following the meeting, it was agreed to begin procedures related to the restoration of air service between Ukraine and Turkey, as well as the negotiation process between the competent authorities of the two countries regarding tourist trips,” the Foreign Ministry said.
It is noted that Bodnar and Guldere paid special attention to the implementation of the agreements reached during the official visit of Turkish President Recep Erdogan to Ukraine on February 3, 2020, in particular large-scale infrastructure projects in Ukraine and housing construction in Kherson region for internally displaced persons who left the territory of the temporarily occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea.
The diplomats also agreed to intensify the existing consultative mechanisms at the level of the Foreign Ministry and other relevant ministries and departments of Ukraine and Turkey, to ensure proper preparation and holding the next meeting of the Joint Economic Commission, and to begin planning the exchange of visits for the period after the removal of quarantine.
European Travel Insurance (Kyiv) in January-September 2019 increased the number of insured tourists by 45% compared to the same period in 2018, to 1.375 million people, the insurer said in a press release.
According to its data, the total amount of premiums collected for this period in 2019 increased by 47% compared to the same period in 2018, and amounted to UAH 248 million, while over the nine months of 2018 the company collected premiums in the amount of UAH 169 million.
The company’s net profit for this period after paying taxes under the IFRS system amounted to UAH 48.740 million.
According to the press release, for the nine months of 2019 the company registered 13,306 insurance cases in the amount of UAH 79 million with tourists abroad and 141 insurance events for UAH 269,000 in Ukraine. In total, during this period of the year, 16 major insurance events worth more than UAH 300,000 each were recorded, and the total amount of payments on them exceeded UAH 8.2 million.
According to the company, for the nine months of 2019, the majority of appeals were received from Turkey (35%, or 4,640 cases), Egypt (21%, or 2,823 cases), and Bulgaria (6%, or 833 cases).
Citizens of Ukraine can travel in Thailand for tourist purposes without visas from April 14, 2019.
“For a trip, you must have a passport (biometric or non-biometric). The period of a visa-free stay is up to 30 days,” the department of the consular service of the Foreign Ministry of Ukraine said.
To stay in Thailand for more than 30 days, regardless of the purpose of the trip, you must obtain a visa at the appropriate diplomatic mission or consular office.
The Foreign Ministry recalls that citizens of Ukraine should be covered by insurance when traveling abroad.
Most people in Russia and Ukraine believe their countries should be independent but have open borders without visas or customs for each other’s citizens, the Levada Analytical Center and the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) said in their joint survey.
The opinion was expressed by 52% of Russians polled by Levada and 48% of Ukrainians polled by KIIS. A total of 25% of Russian respondents and 38% of Ukrainian respondents disagreed.
Seventeen percent of polled Russians and 4% of polled Ukrainians said they wanted Russia and Ukraine to be a single state.
The survey showed that people in both countries are well disposed towards each other. Eighty-two percent of polled Russians declared their warm feelings for Ukrainians, including 25% who said their attitude was very good. The percentage stood at 77% and 23%, respectively, in Ukraine.
Negative feelings were expressed by 13% of polled Russians and 14% of polled Ukrainians. At the same time, 85% of Russian respondents and 69% of Ukrainian respondents exhibited negative sentiments towards the leaders of each other’s countries, the pollsters said.
Levada polled 1,600 people older than 18 in 137 populated localities in 50 Russian constituent territories on February 15-20. KIIS polled 2,042 respondents in Ukraine on February 8-20.
European Travel Insurance (ERV, Kyiv) in January-September 2018 increased the number of insured tourists by 32.5% compared to the same period in 2017, to 903,000 tourists.
According to the website of the insurer, the total amount of premiums collected during this period in 2018 increased by almost 41% compared to the same period in 2017 and amounted to UAH 169 million, while in the nine months of 2017 the company collected premiums in the amount of UAH 119 million.
The number of insurance events with tourists rose by 34% compared with 2017. In just nine months of 2018, the company registered 11,886 insurance claims. Of these, 85 cases occurred in Ukraine, for a total of UAH 66.258 million, while in 2017 for UAH 45.6 million.
More than half of claims about insurance events came to the company from Turkey and Egypt (61%). Statements about insurance events with tourists in Ukraine came mainly from Ivano-Frankivsk region, from Odesa, Mykolaiv, and Kherson.
The company retained the name European Travel Insurance and remained part of ETIG International Travel Insurance Group. The board and the whole team remained to work. The company continues cooperation with the assisting company of ERGO Group, Euro-Center Holding.
ERV Ukraine is still a specialized travel insurance company in Ukraine. The company hopes that in 2018, for the first time in 12 years of its work in the insurance market of Ukraine, it will insure more than one million tourists.
