GEOTOURISM ROUTES AND GEOTOURS IN THE WEST OF UKRAINE: STATE AND DEVELOPMENT PROSPECTS

Abstract

The paper analyzes the current state of geotourism routes and geotours in the west of Ukraine from the point of view of experience and practice of European geotourism. Geotourism routes are considered as a kind of thematic tourist routes with educational specialization. On the territory under study, based on the territorial coverage, there are transboundary ("Ukrainian-Polish Geo-Carpathians" and "Ignacy Lukasiewicz Oil Heritage"), national ("Amber Road"), regional ("Terra Podolica", "Beskydy Rock Formations") and local (mainly in the protected areas) routes. According to the maintenance status, they are divided into three groups: 1) built and marked, 2) built and marked near the sites, 3) not built and not built. Basically, geotourism sites here include places with geological rock outcrops, interesting forms of relief and processes, mountain constructions. It can be argued that the diverse geotourism network is at the initial stage of its development in the region. Thanks to the activity of NGOs, the region is developing comprehensive geoproducts – geotours to gypsum caves of Podillia, mineral resources of Precarpathia, rock formations of Podillia and the Carpathians. Some geotourism sites are included in comprehensive (natural and cultural) tours of regional travel agencies. Eco-educational trails with detailed presentation of geoheritage sites are functioning in the national and landscape parks of the region. Based on the methodological foundations of the geotourism discipline and the European practice of planning and introducing geotourism products, a promising network of diverse geotourism routes and geotours has been developed for the western Ukraine. The trajectory and route of promising transboundary (in particular "Geo-Roztochchia"), national ("Ukrainian Carpathian Geostrada") and a number of regional and local geotourism routes have been proposed. Many proposed regional and local geological and geomorphologic routes can form the basis for the development of appropriate geotours by community-based and commercial structures. To implement the European experience of geotourism routes and geotours development for Ukrainian context, it is necessary to carry out a number of scientific, educational and organizational activities. They include a comprehensive inventory of geotourism sites, provision of informational and educational support for geotour visitors, training for geointerpreters for excursion support as well as strategic and operational management to serve tourists and the preservation and promotion of geoheritage sites. Keywords: geotourism; tourist routes; geotours; geostrada; western Ukraine.