Tourism potential of Ukraine in the context of geography and current state of German cultural heritage

Abstract


 
 
 
 The article describes theoretical foundations of the study of tourism potential of the regions of Ukraine in the context of geography and current state of German cultural heritage. The historical preconditions for the formation and development of cultural heritage of German ethnic minority on the territory of the modern Ukraine are studied. Geography of German ethnic minority of the early XX century within the modern territory of Ukraine and geography of ethnic Germans and German cultural heritage in the modern Ukraine are developed. On the basis of a cluster analysis of indicators of the number of preserved objects and the number of former German settlements, groups of regions with high, medium and low potential for the development of ethnic tourism are identified. Odesa, Lviv, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv and Zhytomyr are the leaders by the number of objects of German cultural heritage among all regions of Ukraine. The group of regions with a medium level of potential for ethnic tourism includes the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, Volyn, Kherson, Ivano-Frankivsk, Mykolaiv, Poltava, Chernivtsi, and Khmelnytskyi regions. Seven main types of preserved objects of German cultural heritage in Ukraine are identified. Sacred objects and public buildings and structures are best represented. The objects of German cultural heritage preserved to this day in the context of the regions of Ukraine are described. It was found that the main obstacles to the development of German ethnic tourism in Ukraine are the destruction of many cultural heritage objects, lack of funding for restoration of these objects, insufficient involvement of objects to tourist routes and low level of their promotion. The main ways to overcome these obstacles are identified: allocation of budget funds for the restoration of objects, attracting private investors, international organizations and German community; development of new tourist routes; marking places with information stands, publishing information materials about objects; digitalization of objects; organization of international conferences, round tables, festivals, etc.