GENESIS OF RECREATIONAL SETTLEMENTS IN THE UKRAINIAN CARPATHIANS IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Abstract

The article examines the phenomena of the emergence and spontaneous evolution of a new type of recreational facilities for the Ukrainian Carpathians region – multi-format recreational settlements that combine private rental residential units with their partial functioning, in the form of rental recreational housing, in the structure of a management company. The prerequisite for the emergence of this type of recreational facilities was the construction of a large ski complex in Bukovel. Accommodation in this complex offered both traditional hotels and comfortable single-family cottages. And these cottages turned out to be the most popular among vacationers and it were they that became a clear example for residents of surrounding villages and towns, who quickly adapted their own surroundings “for tourists.” After russia's occupation of Crimea in 2014, a significant number of the Ukrainian population redirected their holidays to the Carpathian region. The summer holiday season in the mountains has become as widespread and crowded as the winter season. Consequently, recreational facilities in the Ukrainian Carpathians over the course of 1- 2 years were transformed from single-season to year-round establishments, and the summer season surpassed the traditional winter season in terms of profitability. The global Covid 19 pandemic with strict long-term quarantine, psychological stress, and total remote work became the next strong impetus for popularizing the idea of owning a single-family cottage in the environmentally friendly, safe Carpathians. At that time, quarantined Europe and open Ukraine, a visa-free regime and the opening of a number of low-cost airlines to the Gulf countries also resulted in the appearance of a huge number of tourists from the Arab world in the Carpathians.The desire to own a single-family cottage in the Carpathians grew stronger after the large-scale russian invasion in February 2022, as all the delights of the Carpathians added to the feeling of safety from bombings and missile attacks. The response to this demand was the offer of private estates, apart-hotels, small cottage communities, and entire recreational settlements with developed internal infrastructure. The owner of such a building in a recreational settlement can live in it all the time. However, during absence, the management company of a recreational settlement has the right to rent out its building to third parties under the terms of a preliminary agreement with its owner. Thus, this property passively generates income for the owner during the period when he and his family are in another place. Technical issues of maintaining or repairing a building, providing energy resources, developing the territory, landscaping, etc. provided by the management company. Taking this into account, investing capital in exactly this type of real estate in the Ukrainian Carpathians is quite promising and relevant in our time.