TOURIST SPHERE: SEARCH FOR WAYS TO OVERCOME THE CRISIS IN THE CONDITIONS OF GLOBAL QUARANTINE RESTRICTIONS

Abstract

The issues of activity of enterprises of the tourism sector in conditions of quarantine restrictions are investigated. The thesis about the relevance of developing a number of anti-crisis measures that would help stabilize the development of these enterprises is substantiated. The aim of this work is to study the issues of stabilizing the functioning of enterprises in the tourism sector under quarantine conditions. The article presents the thesis that the tourism industry is considered one of the most dynamic industries in the world economy and international trade in services. In the modern world, tourism is economic activity related to the movement of a person outside the permanent place of residence, his recreation with health improvement, raising the level of culture and education. The author of the article states that over the past two decades, the indicators of the development of the tourism sector have been characterized by positive indicators, the number of countries participating in international tourism has expanded, and the scale of tourist arrivals and international tourist receipts has grown every year. Unfortunately, the coronavirus pandemic has made significant adjustments to the functioning of the tourism sector at all levels (global and regional). Indeed, the coronavirus pandemic, which began in China at the end of 2019 and spread throughout the world, has become the biggest challenge and threat to all countries since World War II. The article substantiates that this negatively affected the inbound and outbound tourism markets on a global scale. Thus, the uncertainty of the further development of the situation, the occurrence of obstacles to the normal implementation of travel, restrictions on movement, the concern of mankind to preserve their own health and safety have caused the crisis and an increase in the volume of losses of travel companies. The focus of the article is concentrated on the analysis of the negative consequences of the aggravation of the epidemic situation for the world economy. The article emphasizes that for each country it is extremely important to take a number of measures to minimize the consequences of quarantine restrictions on the activities of tourism enterprises. Within the framework of this study, the author emphasizes that the main criterion for the restoration of the tourism sector should be the achievement of an optimal balance between security, health and economic interests. The article proposes recommended measures to stabilize the tourism sector in Ukraine and minimize losses as a result of the pandemic. The complex of such measures includes: – continuation of the policy of canceling the obligations to pay income tax and VAT for accommodation facilities, catering; – government support and stimulation of domestic rail and air traffic (government subsidies for the cost of tickets); – gradual introduction of permission to organize open terraces, sites for cafes, restaurants (while maintaining all the necessary safety measures for health protection); – аctivation of measures for digital transformation of the domestic tourism sector; – introduction of a transparent mechanism for the use of funds received in local budgets from the tourist tax exclusively for the development of domestic tourism and related infrastructure. The authors emphasize that today there is no doubt about the need to activate the processes and measures to overcome the harmful effects of the pandemic on the tourism sector of the domestic economy. We emphasize that the nationwide implementation of all anti-crisis levers, consistency and consistency in the implementation of all measures will contribute to their speedy stabilization of the development of tourism entities and their achievement of the level of economic efficiency of their activities. Keywords: tourism, tourist flows, quarantine, epidemic risks, pandemic, Covid-19, «Roadmap for the competitive development of tourism in Ukraine», development of the tourism sector.