Ukraine's tourism industry sees over US$2 bln in losses over coronavirus pandemic

Chair of the Government Agency for Tourism Development Maryana Oleskiv says Ukraine's tourism industry in 2020 saw about UAH 60 billion, or US$2.1 billion, in losses due to the coronavirus pandemic.

"The demand is lower today and the damage to the market has been significant. If tourism industry losses worldwide stood at about US$800 billion, those of Ukraine amounted to about UAH 60 billion, according to our estimates. This is the damage that the industry saw in 2020," she said at a press conference on January 20.

Read alsoOver US$3.6 mln allocated in 2021 budget for development of Ukraine's tourismOleskiv added that the agency plans to publish detailed results of the industry's operation in 2020 in early February.

"At the same time, there is still no detailed statistical data on the tourism market and its participants in Ukraine," she said.

"For the State Agency, this will be one of the priorities in 2021. We plan to allocate a significant share of funding from the budget we have at our disposal, that is UAH 100 million (US$3.6 million), for creation of a unified tourism register, where all travel companies will register, and we will be able to receive operational statistics at least monthly," she summed up.

Background

• Kyiv's municipal budget will fail to receive over UAH 20 million (US$710,480) in tourist taxes due to the coronavirus pandemic and the closure of borders.
• The Ukrainian State Agency for Tourism Development and U.S. tech giant Google on November 2 signed a memorandum of cooperation, providing for joint work on the digital transformation of the tourism industry in Ukraine.