SOCIO-ECONOMIC PROBLEMS OF TOURIST INDUSTRY DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE

Abstract

It is difficult to overestimate the value of tourism both for individuals, and for the nations of the world in general. Tourism provides recreation, amplifies the working efficiency, provides positive emotions and new impressions; it contributes to the realization of the cognitive need of the individual, his integration into the multinational intercultural space. And at the same time tourism is of great cultural, social and economic importance for the countries of the world.
Despite the fact that Ukraine has diverse tourist and recreational resources providing significant potential for the development of both domestic and international inbound tourism, the development of tourism industry in the country is hampered by a number of problems. Among them, the most important are the socio-economic problems that need to be addressed at the state level.
Disappointing demographic situation; negative changes in the age structure of the population (a significant number of people in retirement age who do not have the financial opportunity to travel); the lack of a middle class as the basis for country’s economy stability and growth; increase in poverty; unsatisfactory state of transport and communal infrastructure; neglection of objects of cultural heritage, low level of service, etc. hamper the development of the tourism sector.
This situation hinders the development of not only domestic but also inbound international tourism, since it does not characterize us as a highly developed state and, combined with the problem of insufficient information about Ukraine, does not contribute to its tourist attractiveness.
In order to ensure the development of the tourism sector the identified socio-economic problems need to be addressed at the state level, namely: government has to improve the regulatory and legal framework; to ensure a decent standard of living for the population; to promote cultural level growth among the members of the society; to improve the material and technical base of tourism, transport and public infrastructure; to increase funding for the tourism sector and to ensure high-quality targeted use of funds; to ensure the promotion of a domestic tourist product on the external and internal markets, etc.