Business news from Ukraine

Tourism enterprises paid over UAH 2 bln in taxes in 2023

Tourism enterprises paid UAH 2 billion 49.462 million in taxes in 2023, which is 32% more than in the previous year, but 8% less than in 2021, said Mariana Oleskiv, head of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine, during a final press conference on Wednesday.

“After a very stressful year of 2022, people just needed time to recover, to reboot psychologically, and it was by traveling, visiting tourist destinations, that they achieved their goals. Interest in their culture is realized through travel,” Oleskiv said.

Hotels accounted for 63.6% of tax revenues, tour operators for 10.1%, other accommodation facilities for 9.7%, and travel agencies for 9.4%. At the same time, the total number of taxpayers in 2023 amounted to 16645, which is 9% less than in 2022 and 25% less than in 2021.

,

World Tourism Organization predicts almost full recovery of international tourism this year

In January-July 2023, international tourism recovered by 84% from the pre-pandemic level of 2019, and an almost complete recovery of the industry is possible by the end of the year, according to the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).

From January to July, 700 million tourist trips were made worldwide, 43% more than in the same period last year. July was the busiest month: 145 million tourist trips were made during this time, which is about 20% of the total for seven months.

“But as the tourism sector recovers, it also needs to adapt. Extreme weather events and overtourism emphasize the need to create a more inclusive, resilient sector to not only ensure the recovery of tourism, but also to redefine it,” said UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili.

Among the regions of the world, the Middle East, Europe and Africa showed the best results of recovery over the past seven months. According to UNWTO, the Middle East received 20% more tourists than in 2019. European countries have recovered by 91%, driven by strong demand for travel among residents of the region and US citizens. In Africa, the number of tourists reached 92%, in America – 87% of the level of 2019.

In the Asia-Pacific region, the recovery accelerated and reached 61% of pre-pandemic levels after many destinations reopened in late 2022 and early 2023.

“The results show that international tourism is still on the right track and will reach 80-95% of pre-pandemic levels by 2023. The recovery will continue in September-December, albeit at a more moderate pace due to weak demand and a lack of air routes, especially in the Asia-Pacific region, where recovery is still at a moderate level,” the organization explained.

The UNWTO expects that the opening of China and other Asian destinations will continue to stimulate travel both within the region and to other parts of the world.

At the same time, the difficult economic situation continues to hamper the recovery of international tourism in 2023. Persistent inflation and rising oil prices have led to higher transportation and accommodation costs. This may affect tourist spending in the remainder of the year as they increasingly seek value for money, travel closer to home, and take shorter trips.

,

UN WORLD TOURISM ORGANIZATION: INTERNATIONAL TOURISM RECOVERY TO SLOW DOWN DUE TO CONFLICT IN UKRAINE

The recovery of international tourism after the coronavirus pandemic may slow down due to the conflict in Ukraine, experts from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) say.
“The main tourist supplying countries, the US and Asian countries, which have now begun to open for departure, are sensitive to possible risks. In addition, the closure of Ukrainian and Russian airspace, as well as the ban on flights for Russian carriers, affects travel within Europe. The need to overfly closed areas for long-haul flights leads to an increase in flight time and an increase in flight costs.
According to the UNWTO, Russia and Ukraine accounted for 3% of global travel spending in 2020.
If the conflict drags on, global tourism could lose at least $14 billion in revenue.
“Both markets are significant suppliers of tourists for neighboring countries, European beach destinations. The Russian market has also become very important during the pandemic for tourist destinations such as the Maldives, Seychelles or Sri Lanka,” the organization emphasizes.
At the same time, UNWTO experts note that it is too early to assess all the consequences of the war. Searches and bookings for flights through various channels fell just after February 24, but in early March, the figures began to recover.
“The situation of uncertainty worsens economic conditions, undermines consumer confidence, increases investment uncertainty. According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), global economic growth this year could be 1% lower than forecast, and inflation could jump by 2 .5%. The rising price of oil also increases the cost of transportation services and hotel accommodation, which reduces the purchasing power of potential tourists,” the UNWTO emphasizes.

, ,

TOUR OPERATORS SALES GOES DOWN BY 20-40% IN UKRAINE

Travel companies saw sales of vacation packages to destinations in Russia and abroad tumble 20-40% on the first day of Russia’s military operation in Ukraine, Russian tour operators association ATOR reported on Friday.
Tourists are also asking about the conditions for cancelling trips, but so far few have actually done so, ATOR said.
“Sales of tour packages are lagging behind the average figures last week by 20-40%. The figures vary depending on the company. A large portion of the drop in sales was for tours in Russia – at some companies in this segment it is as much as 40%. Tour operators believe that this is probably a short-term phenomenon that has more to do with the confusion with tourists’ departures from regions in southern Russia,” ATOR said.
The steepest drop has been in sales of trips in the next few weeks in March. Early bookings for summer holidays at resorts in Krasnodar Territory and Crimea declined far less, by only 10-20%, ATOR said.
“Tourists, as we see, believe that the crisis will be resolved by the end of spring. The drop in this segment is smaller than for earlier dates,” the association said.
Sales of vacations abroad also saw a smaller decline, of 15-20%, and also primarily for the coming weeks.
“Some tourists who planned to buy tours for upcoming dates prefer to hold off on booking. But requests continue to come in for the summer, including quite expensive ones. The decline here is not very noticeable. As always, it is the luxury segment that is the most stable,” ATOR said.
Travel agencies and tour operators said they are getting many questions from tourists about the possible size of penalties for trip cancellations, but there are few actual cancellations so far, partly because cancellation terms for upcoming dates usually stipulate penalties. There are also tourists asking about possible travel discounts being offered in connection with the crisis.

, ,

POLAND TO CHANGE VISA OPERATOR IN UKRAINE

From April 2022, Poland will change its visa operator in Ukraine – it will be the TLS consortium, consisting of five companies – TLS Group S.A., TLSContact Maroc Immeuble Walili, TLScontact Ukraine LLC, Personnel Service, Viza Staff.
Such data is contained in the materials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, provided in response to a deputy request from Olena Moshenets (Servant of the People), which is available to the Interfax-Ukraine agency.
“According to the Embassy of the Republic of Poland in Ukraine, on February 7, 2022, an agreement was concluded on the provision of visa services with a company determined as the winner based on the results of a tender for the selection of a visa operator. The start of work of a new visa operator is scheduled for April 2022,” the Foreign Ministry said in response at the request of an MP.
Prior to the start of the work of the new operator, the acceptance of documents will be carried out by VFS Global.
“The announcement of the launch of the new operator will be made public on the official web portal of the Polish diplomatic/consular institutions,” the ministry said.

, ,

CITIZENS OF UKRAINE TRAVELING TO GERMANY MUST MEET REQUIREMENTS FOR ELECTRONIC REGISTRATION AND QUARANTINE

Since Sunday, January 30, Ukraine has been included in the list of high-risk countries for Germany, the Ukrainian Embassy in Germany said. “This means that Ukrainian citizens are required to comply with the requirements for electronic registration and quarantine. For example, travelers from Ukraine must register at www.einreiseanmeldung.de and have a confirmation of registration before arriving in Germany,” the Ukrainian embassy said in a Facebook statement on Sunday.
If you enter Germany with a previous stay in a high-risk area or in an area with different strains of coronavirus during the last ten days, you must go directly to the destination immediately after entering Germany, to carry out home isolation (quarantine).
The embassy explained that after staying in the high-risk zone, visitors must carry out home isolation for ten days, after staying in the zone with different strains of coronavirus – 14 days. During the quarantine it is not allowed to leave the house or apartment and receive guests.
“Fully vaccinated citizens of Ukraine can enter Germany without urgent need. The above general rules of entry apply to this category of persons. Vaccination must be performed with one of the vaccines listed on the website of the Paul Ehrlich Institute. Vaccination with the last required dose must be at least 14 days before entry,” the embassy said.
More information can be found on the website of the Federal Interior Ministry.
Unvaccinated citizens of Ukraine can enter Germany, if necessary, by providing either a negative test result or a certificate of recovery. The list of relevant conditions is posted on the website of the Federal Minister of the Interior.
This requirement applies to persons over six years of age.
“The COVID-19 test (antigen test or PCR test) must be completed a maximum of 48 hours before the (scheduled) time of entry. In case of arrival by transport of the carrier company (for example, airline), the PCR test is allowed to pass at least 48 hours before (planned) moment of the beginning of transportation (for example, time of departure); the antigen test is also allowed to take place a maximum of 48 hours before the (scheduled) start of transportation, if it is carried out by the carrier,” the statement said.
However, if the trip is planned by plane, it is recommended to follow the requirements of individual airlines.

, , ,