Trends in Tourism Development in European Union Countries Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic. How Quickly Has the Global Tourism Industry Recovered?

Introduction. Providing one tenth of the world's gross national product, tourism, despite the obstacles, is fully recognized as one of the most profitable and dynamic sectors of the economy. The COVID-19 pandemic has gained enormous proportions and affected the tourism industry in a way that no crisis has affected before, causing significant problems for the development of the world and national economies in particular. The purpose of the study is to analyze trends in tourism in Ukraine and the world in the COVID-19 pandemic, identify promising areas of development and systematize measures implemented by Ukraine and other countries to stimulate and support the tourism industry. Results. The percentage change in international tourist arrivals by region in 2020 has been studied. It has been established that the global tourism industry has suffered losses from the pandemic of about $ 22 billion, or more than 20 billion euros. At the same time, the losses of the tourism industry in Ukraine are estimated as more than 1.5 billion US dollars in 2020. The World Tourism Organization has developed its own recommendations for mitigating the socio-economic impact of the pandemic on tourism in different countries. The state of tourism development in Ukraine in the period 2019-2021 and the beginning of 2022 is studied. Measures of Ukraine in the legal aspect aimed at minimizing the negative impact of quarantine restrictions on all spheres of socio-economic activity are substantiated. The stages of tourism development in Ukraine in the context of overcoming the COVID-19 pandemic are identified. Conclusions. It has been established that one of the industries that has suffered the most and suffered significant financial and economic consequences during the COVID-19 pandemic is the tourism industry. Today, the tourism industry is undergoing major transformations, requiring a qualitative and thorough analysis of the factors influencing demand in connection with the COVID-19 pandemic. Countries are beginning to refocus on stimulating the development of domestic tourism, promoting the accelerated introduction of online forms and digital tools in the provision of tourist services. Keywords: tourism, tourism sphere, tourism product (service), tourism market, foreign and domestic tourism, COVID-19 pandemic, tourism crisis, quarantine restrictions.

The paper is devoted to the analysis of world trends in tourism development in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Climate change, declining drinking water levels, and high concentrations of greenhouse gases are forcing people and businesses to think about using new methods to reduce their impact on the environment. The circular economy must become a lifeline and change the behavior of the world's population. The COVID-19 pandemic has almost completely stopped all life on earth. At one point, air traffic stopped, sea and river cruises, entire cities and countries were closed for quarantine. The pandemic made all residents think and rethink everyday life, attitude to travel and nature. Tourism even now remains one of the sectors most affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and the outlook remains rather uncertain. Life will not be the same as it used to be. The pandemic has significantly affected every sector of the tourism industry: airlines, transport, cruise lines, hotels, restaurants, attractions (such as national parks, protected areas and cultural heritage sites), travel agencies, tour operators. Small and medium-sized enterprises, which make up a large informal tourism sector, make up about 80 per cent of the tourism sector, and many of them may not survive the crisis without significant support. In the future, not only the format of travel will change, but also our attitude to them: vacation planning will have to be approached more consciously and take into account many factors. Tourism was one of the first sectors to be deeply impacted by the pandemic, as measures introduced to contain the virus led to a near-complete cessation of tourism activities around the world. The sector also risks being among one of the last to recover, with the ongoing travel restrictions and the global recession. This has consequences beyond the tourism economy, with the many other sectors that support, and are supported by, tourism also significantly impacted. Therefore, the paper considers the trends of tourism development in the world, as well as the application of the principles of the circular economy in this area. various macro-environmental factors force the tourism industry and tourists to change their preferences and tastes. Global and European trends include safety and hygiene when traveling, the growth of contactless payments, the spread of local tourism, healthy and organic food, the use of virtual reality, robots, chatbots and process automation. In addition, ecological, rural and transformational tourism is gaining popularity among tourist destinations.

The article examines trends in the development of international tourism in the leading EU countries, selected through cluster analysis. The focus is on key factors that influence both the economic development of countries and their socio-economic development: tourist arrivals, tourism expenditures, and GDP per capita. Special attention is given to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine war on the tourism sector and the economies of these countries. The purpose of the research is to identify and analyze the factors contributing to the competitiveness of leading EU countries in the global tourism industry. The study employs quantitative analysis, using statistical data on tourism indicators from Eurostat and the World Tourism Organization. The analysis is carried out through time series analysis to explore patterns and relationships between variables like GDP per capita, number of international tourists, and tourism revenue. The findings indicate that the countries with well-developed tourism infrastructure, high levels of investment in promotion, and favorable economic conditions tend to dominate the international tourism industry. The analyzed countries have demonstrated significant recovery of tourism following major crises, such as the economic crisis, the Covid-19 pandemic and Russian-Ukrainian war. Despite the severe impact of these events, which led to substantial declines in tourist arrivals and revenue, leading EU nations have shown resilience in regaining their position in the global tourism market. The practical implications suggest that countries should continuously adapt their tourism strategies to maintain or improve their global rankings and address emerging trends and competition. The study concludes that sustainable tourism development, combined with the expansion of accommodation facilities and improvement of service quality, will be crucial for maintaining the competitiveness of EU countries in the global tourism industry which will contribute to economic development and socio-economic development of countries. The results of the analysis provide insights into future trends and offer recommendations on how to enhance the attractiveness of their countries for international visitors.

Данная статья посвящена современному состоянию туристской отрасли в Российской Федерации. В работе говорится о роли туризма для развития экономики страны, о ее влиянии на занятость населения, о стимулировании сопутствующих отраслей экономики. Дается краткий анализ развития туризма в России, говорится о том, что ранее акцент делался в первую очередь на развитие выездного туризма. В работе приводятся примеры современных направлений развития туризма, говорится о роли крупных международных событий на развитие туристской отрасли. В статье говорится о направлениях развития туризма в нашей стране [4]. Основные цели обозначены в современных правительственных документах. Важное внимание в первую очередь уделяется развитию внутреннего и въездного туризма. Приводятся и анализируются статистические данные состояния туристской отрасли в Российской Федерации до пандемии covid и после, говорится о числе туристских фирм, турагентской деятельности, о числе реализованных туристских пакетов, о числе коллективных средств размещения, показаны тенденции развития и роста этих показателей. Количественные показатели сравниваются и анализируются. Показан выездной и въездной туристский потоки. В работе уделено внимание въездному туризму, приводятся данные по туристским потокам из разных стран, показан рост въезжающих иностранных туристов из стран лидеров. В статье приводятся не только количественные данные туристского рынка, но и даются качественные показатели: каким образом иностранные путешественникик покупают туры, продолжительность путешествий иностранных туристов, средний бюджет туристов, приводятся наиболее востребованные туристские дестинации. В статье анализируется вклад туризма в валовый внутренний продукт, делается вывод о состоянии сферы туризма.

Energy is vital for the proper functioning of the various sectors of the economy and social life. During the pandemic, there have been some changes in these aspects that need to be investigated. The main objective of this article is to identify the direction of change caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in energy consumption and energy intensity in sectors and economic areas in EU countries. The specific objectives are to identify the importance of energy consumption in sectors and areas of the economy in individual EU countries; to determine the dynamics of change and variability during the pandemic in energy consumption in individual sectors and areas of the economy in EU countries, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic; to determine the changes in energy intensity of individual economic sectors and the differences in energy intensity between individual EU countries, including during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using a purposive selection method, all 27 EU Member States were selected for the study on 31 December 2020. The analysed period covered the years 2005–2020. The sources of material were literature and data from Eurostat. Descriptive, tabular and graphical methods, dynamic indicators with a fixed base and variable base, Gini coefficient, coefficient of variation, Pearson’s linear correlation coefficient, and multi-criteria analysis were used for analysis and presentation. It was found that the structure of energy consumption had remained unchanged for several years, with transport, industry and households dominating. There were no significant differences between countries. The COVID-19 pandemic reduced energy consumption in all sectors of the economy, the largest in transport and services and the smaller in industry. At the same time, household energy consumption increased. As a result of the pandemic, there was an increase in energy intensity in all sectors of the economy, the largest in industry. Western European countries had a lower energy intensity of the economy than Central and Eastern European countries. There was little change over several years. Countries generally maintained their ranking. The pandemic did not change anything in this respect, meaning that it had a similar impact on individual EU countries.

The article analyzes current trends and strategic vectors of development of the global tourism industry. It is noted that the main trends of this period were digitalization, the development of sustainable tourism, the growth of the popularity of domestic tourism, as well as the individualization of services. The world experience of supporting the development of tourism in crisis conditions is analyzed. The example of such countries as Italy, Malaysia and Costa Rica shows that strategic initiatives aimed at stimulating domestic tourism can effectively contribute to economic recovery. These examples confirm the possibility of using similar approaches to support the tourism industry in Ukraine, in particular through the introduction of tax breaks, subsidies for domestic travel and marketing campaigns to promote local tourist destinations. It is substantiated that along with new trends, the global tourism industry also faces numerous problems and risks. The risks and problems affecting the development of tourism in different regions of the world are studied, including global crises, natural disasters, pandemics and regional conflicts that negatively affect the development of tourism. The main ones are economic problems, such as inflation and rising costs of services, which reduce the accessibility of travel for the population; environmental challenges, in particular climate change and extreme weather events, which negatively affect tourist regions, especially coastal and environmentally sensitive areas; political instability, military conflicts, such as the war in Ukraine, as well as infrastructure problems. All these factors require effective management and adaptation strategies from government agencies and tourism operators to ensure the sustainable development of the industry in the face of global challenges. It is noted that sustainable tourism development and adaptation to new challenges are a necessary condition for the preservation and further development of tourism sectors around the world. It is noted that using global experience in tourism development and taking into account modern challenges will allow Ukraine to create a sustainable tourism industry aimed at sustainable development and integration into global processes.

Given the prospects for the development of the Chinese tourism market, we consider it appropriate to thoroughly study the impact of Chinese conditions on the global tourism industry and China's international tourism positioning. Literary analysis of Chinese tourism research has shown a growing interest in this issue since the 2010s. Most scholars, tourism practitioners, government officials and professionals in tourism agencies agree that the Chinese tourism market has mega potential and high development dynamics. However, while scientific reviews of the past decade have focused exclusively on researching the travel geography of Chinese travelers and the dynamics of Chinese outbound tourism, modern work provides a deep understanding of Chinese tourists' behavior and experiences and highlights negative aspects of Chinese mass tourism. In this article, the author specifies China's place in the global tourism market, using quantitative data and tourism indices. In particular, after ranking the world countries on key quantitative indicators of the level of development of the tourism industry (number of tourists, number of international tourist arrivals, number of revenues from tourism), China's strong position was revealed (3rd, 4th and 11th respectively).Graphs of changes in the number of international tourist arrivals and cash inflows from tourism showed a positive trend. In particular, in 2019 a record was reached among the number of tourists and the number of tourist arrivals in China for the entire research period. At the same time, it should be noted that the Covid-19 pandemic has not bypassed China's tourism sector and in 2020 the number of international tourist arrivals decreased fivefold (this is the lowest figure for the country in the history of collecting international tourism statistics, since 1995). revenues from international tourists reached 14.2 billion dollars. (less than ever in the last 20 years). The prospects of the Chinese market and optimistic dynamics of its development were evidenced by the highest rating indices in the field of tourism and travel − Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (2019) and Travel & Tourism Development Index (2021), where China ranked 13th and 12th respectively. Thus, quantitative indicators and integrated indices have confirmed China's important position in the tourism market and allow us to predict their stable strengthening and China's short-term world leadership in the tourism sector.

The global tourism industry is struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. During the COVID-19 pandemic, daily tourism forecasting is more critical than ever before in supporting decisions and planning. Considering the changes in tourist psyche and behaviour caused by COVID-19, this study attempts to investigate whether the statistical modelling methods can work reliably under the new normal when travel restrictions are eased or lifted. To this end, we first compare the predictivity of daily tourism demand data before and during COVID-19, and observe heterogeneous impacts across different geographical scales. Then an improved multivariate & multiscale decomposition-ensemble framework is proposed to forecast daily tourism demand. The empirical study indicates the superiority and practicability of the proposed framework before and during COVID-19. Finally, we call for more research on the comparability of tourism demand forecasting.

The travel industry is a complex system with diverse economic links. It brings together a large number of industries whose function is to meet the growing demand for tourism products and services. Moreover, world trends in tourism development indicate that its role is growing both locally and globally. To confirm, if we look at individual indicators using the analytical method, according to the International Tourism Organization, the share of tourism in world GDP is about 9% and about 30% in world exports of services and 6% of world trade. The tourism industry employs more than 235 million people or every 12-th worker. If in 2015 about 983 million foreign tourists used the services of the tourist industry, in 2017 their number reached 1 billion. World Tourism Turnover by the end of 2018 reached over $ 1.2 trillion. USA (https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/). It is estimated that Western Europe and the United States receive the highest profits from tourism. Taking a closer look at the characteristics of these indicators, it should be noted that during the period 2014-2018, the share of direct revenues from tourism activity in the structure of GDP production increased slightly from 1.42% to 1.44% respectively over the years. At the same time, in recent years, the total contribution of tourism to the GDP of the country has significantly increased, more than twice or by 97.6 billion, indicating that the tourism industry is gaining importance for the development of the economy and social sphere of Ukraine. By region, the largest number of tourism enterprises is located in Kyiv, Odesa, Lviv and Dnipropetrovsk regions; the smallest number is in Luhansk, Kherson and Zhytomyr regions (Ukraine). Most European countries have a good tourist image, a long tradition of quality tourism services, making extensive use of marketing tools to promote tourism services. Being located in the center of Europe and possessing the potential of tourist attraction, Ukraine has every opportunity to become its tourist center. However, in the current context, our country holds a small share of the world and European inbound tourism market, mainly serving as a tourist supplier to these markets, which means an outflow of funds from the country. Among the problems of development of the sphere of tourist services are following: 1) the political situation in the country; 2) poor information promotion; 3) inconsistency of the quality characteristics of the provision of tourist services; 4) inconsistency of legal regulation; 5) lack of a consistent state policy in the field of tourism; 6) poor quality of transport in the country; 7) domestic tourism. To continue the transformation, the Tourism and Resort Development Strategy for the period up to 2026 was approved. In the long term, the economic effect of the strategic goals of tourism market development will be reflected in the increase of tax revenues from all levels of tourism activity, increase of tourist flows, especially of foreign citizens, attraction of foreign investments in development of tourism infrastructure, creation of new jobs, increase in the volume of tourist services provided. As a consequence, creating systemic and complex transformations in the tourist services market will help accelerate the country's economic growth.

Since 2020, the outbreak of covid-19 has changed the operation mode of many industries, and also has a great impact on the global tourism industry. At the same time, it also promotes the transformation of the tourism industry, which is more dependent on the real economy, to the Internet economy. The use of social media for tourism marketing is a hot spot in recent years, and the outbreak of the epidemic has intensified the development of this model. This paper analyzes the characteristics of social media to explain why it is more suitable for tourism marketing than traditional media, and summarizes the tourism marketing strategies and means of social media. Social media has rich forms of expression, such as text, pictures, audio, video, live broadcast, etc., which can be selected according to the nature of tourism destination. Through the use of precision marketing, word-of-mouth marketing, celebrity effect and other marketing strategies, it can also improve the audience's willingness to travel during the post epidemic period, and promote the recovery and development of tourism.

The main objective of this article is to evaluate the repercussions of the crises resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine on changes to the European Union’s reliance on energy raw material imports, particularly from Russia. Furthermore, several specific objectives are outlined: to ascertain the EU’s energy balance and any alterations therein, to identify changes in the concentration of energy raw material imports among EU countries during the crises, to determine the level and fluctuations in energy raw material import dependence within the EU and individual member states throughout the crises, and lastly, to assess changes in the concentration of energy raw material imports from Russia in EU countries during the crises. The research encompassed all 27 EU member states as of 31 December 2022, and the examination period spanned 2010 to 2022. The information sources include relevant literature on the subject and data sourced from Eurostat. In conducting the analysis and presenting the data, several methodologies are employed, including descriptive, tabular, and graphical techniques. Additionally, quantitative measures such as the Gini structure concentration coefficient and concentration analysis via the Lorenz curve are utilized. In the initial phase, an analysis of changes to the energy balance of the entire EU in the period before and during the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine was carried out. Changes to the concentration of energy imports in EU countries during crises are also shown. Secondly, dependence on imports of individual energy resources for the entire EU was identified. Various changes in this relationship during crises are shown. If the dependence of the entire EU on the import of individual groups of energy resources from Russia were identified, changes in individual EU countries in this respect are indicated. Finally, the changes in the concentration of energy imports from Russia in the EU countries during the crises are shown. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the EU experienced a slight reduction in dependence on energy raw material imports. However, this reduction was short-lived and mainly attributed to the decrease in energy demand caused by the pandemic. Conversely, the war in Ukraine had a substantial impact, leading to a notable surge in energy raw material imports as a result of stockpiling efforts and the need to safeguard against further disruptions in the energy market. Notably, the EU’s reliance on energy imports from Russia was already considerable. Following the outbreak of the conflict in Ukraine, imports of oil, petroleum products, and solid fossil fuels experienced significant decline due to imposed sanctions. Nonetheless, restrictions on natural gas imports were comparatively less severe. In 2023, imports of crude oil instead of petroleum products practically ceased, while restrictions in the case of natural gas were not so drastic.

The tourism industry remains one of the largest economic sectors in the world in terms of both employment creation and contribution to the global economy. However, the industry is sensitive to external shocks such as natural and/or human-induced disasters. This book documented the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global tourism industry. This chapter (also serving as a policy brief) presents emerging key findings and conclusions, as well as policy recommendations that are embedded within the Sendai Framework of Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and management. Drawing from past disasters, the emphasis is placed on building back better (BBB) global tourism systems post-COVID-19. The decision to pivot the chapter on the DRR and management framework that embraces the BBB concept is informed by the inevitable new global normal. The new global normal is characterised by increasing and more intense disasters across all spatial levels, from a local to a global scale, which normally results in severe negative impacts on all economic sectors as experienced during the Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami in 2004 and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019/2020. This orientation is further informed by the futuristic thinking that incorporates matters of building resilience and adaptation to disaster risks within the tourism industry. Therefore, the chapter provides the tourism industry and its key stakeholders with both immediate ideas for quick and big wins post-COVID-19 recovery pathways and future ideas to build resilience that permits adaptation of the tourism industry to future disasters. The development of globally accepted protocols enhancing health and safety, especially for the tourist and those working in the tourism and related industries, is recommended. Should these measures be fully upheld, then international travel, which is critical in the tourism sector, may resume sooner rather than later, with spill over effects on exciting domestic tourism too.

This article presents an analysis of tourism development in selected European Union countries. The study was motivated by the need to analyze changes in tourism development in individual European Union (EU) countries following the COVID-19 pandemic. The article is an attempt to fill the research gap in the field of changes in tourism development in recent years and to identify factors determining the development of tourism. Over the past few decades the changes has been observed in leisure activities and travel. This is driven not only by ecnomic and technological but also by demographic changes. Tourism is undergoing countinuous shifts, stemming from shifts in tourist expactations and modifinig trends in tourist stays. Nowadays, tourists increasingly expect personalized tourism experiences. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused particularly significant transforms in the tourism market. The aim of the article is to conduct a comparative analysis of tourism development in selected EU countries, indicating changes in the years 2018-2024. The article analyzes secondary data from the EUROSTAT database and domestic and international literature. The analysis showed significant changes in the tourism market caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, which was reflected in the decrease in the number of tourist arrivals and a reduction in the number of tourist facilities. In 2020, there was a particularly strong reduction in tourist traffic in the countries surveyed, with the largest decline in arrivals of foreign tourists. Despite this, an increase in domestic travel percentage was observed during the pandemic (this was particularly noticeable in 2020 – with the exception of Greece, which was still visited more often by foreign tourists than domestic ones).This study serves as a starting point for further analysis of changes in tourism development in the European Union.

This paper summarizes the findings for the European Region of the WPA Task Force on Steps, Obstacles and Mistakes to Avoid in the Implementation of Community Mental Health Care. The article presents a description of the region, an overview of mental health policies and legislation, a summary of relevant research in the region, a precis of community mental health services, a discussion of the key lessons learned, and some recommendations for the future.

This work is devoted to the prospects for the recovery of the tourism industry after the Covid-19 pandemic in the context of the transformations of this industry, which are the consequences of the pandemic. The theoretical significance of the work is determined by tracing in it the patterns of recession and recovery of the globalized sphere of the world economy in the context of the global crisis, which has several dimensions, within the framework of a specific case. The practical significance of the work is due to the fact that, on the basis of identifying short and medium-term trends that contribute to the recovery of the tourism industry, recommendations are proposed to accelerate the latter and deepen the positive trends associated with it. The relevance of this work is due, on the one hand, to the need for the most effective means of restoring global tourism, on the other hand, the need to understand the impact of multidimensional crises on a global scale (such as the Covid-19 pandemic) on the globalized economy of the modern world and its individual industries. The world tourism industry as a part of the global economy was selected as the object of analysis. The subject of the study is the recovery process of the global tourism industry after the recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.