Top Ukraine Tourism Official Pleads With Industry to Tighten Tourniquet on Russia
By Mariana Oleskiv, State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine
Despite the Covid pandemic, the Ukrainian tourism industry was showing signs of recovery and we expected more tourists to come in 2022. But those plans were totally ruined on February 24 when Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine.
Despite the Covid pandemic, the Ukrainian tourism industry was showing signs of recovery and we expected more tourists to come in 2022. But those plans were totally ruined on February 24 when Russia launched an all-out invasion of Ukraine.
No one could believe it would look like this a month ago. The price Russia pays for this “tourism” is thousands of dead Russian soldiers. Meanwhile, the price Ukraine pays is thousands of civilians killed while beautiful towns, historical buildings and museums have been destroyed.
Is this kind of tourism we all were looking for?
Ukrainians are united like never before despite the fact that we are living in our hardest period ever. Our hospitality industry cannot do what it always did the best — welcome tourists. Now they are doing what they have to do — feed our army in the “hot” areas and host refugees in the western part of the country. We are grateful to the global hospitality industry for hosting Ukrainian refugees all around Europe. It is not the way we wanted to travel, but it’s a new reality where women and kids have no place to stay.
Things Tourism Can Do
We are confident that very soon Ukraine will prevail and and open the doors for tourists again. There will be a lot of people who want to understand the nation that stopped Mordor. In addition, a lot of historians, military specialists and politicians will look for answers.
The world should not make a mistake now while Ukrainians pay the highest price for your freedom. A lot of people blame crazy Putin for starting the war. It is not true. It’s not the tsar that is bombing our cities and shooting at the maternity hospital in Mariupol. It’s not the tsar that keeps the city under siege and destroys the green corridors. This is done by Russian citizens. They could simply choose not to execute these criminal orders but they enjoy it.