Strategic priorities of the development of tourist activities in the Sumy region in the post-war period

Abstract

At the current stage of regional development, Sumy Oblast is still significantly inferior to the Western and Central regions of Ukraine in terms of an integrated assessment of economic efficiency, standard of living, and environmental safety. In addition, external factors, including pandemic restrictions and military invasion, have negatively affected the region's economic situation. The purpose of the article is to analyze the prerequisites for development and the current state of tourism in the Sumy region, as well as to develop proposals for improving its state in the post-war period. The subject of the study is the prospects for the development of tourism in the Sumy region in the post-war period. The research was carried out on the basis of the analysis of official statistical data on the development of tourism and tourist infrastructure in Ukraine, and in particular in the Sumy region. To identify the level of tourism development, economic and statistical methods were used, horizontal and structural analysis of statistical data on tourism development was carried out, which made it possible to identify the peculiarities of the regional development of tourism infrastructure. The following results were obtained. The strategic directions of the development of tourism in the Sumy region in the post-war period have been determined: reconstruction and restoration of the damaged and destroyed tourist infrastructure; liquidation of the consequences of hostilities, complete demining of territories; improving the quality of providing tourist services: training qualified personnel; creation of regional tours and tourist routes in the Sumy region; development of the tourism brand of the Sumy region; increasing the tourist potential of Sumy as a regional center; development of new promising types of tourism; involvement of the local population in the development of tourism; preservation and restoration of natural and cultural monuments. Conclusions. Regional policy in the post-war period should be aimed at prioritizing the tourism industry and creating an effective strategy for the development of tourism in the region and increasing the tourism competitiveness of Sumy Oblast among other administrative and territorial units of Ukraine.