Demand For Tourism Services Research Articles

The Impact of Travel Agencies on the Demand for Tourism Services

The Impact of Travel Agencies on the Demand for Tourism Services

Rural tourism potential in the development of the agriculture-industrial complex

This study explores the potential of rural tourism in the context of sustainable societal development. The demand for tourism services in the post-COVID-19 period is analyzed, as is the trend of travelers’ ability to pay for tourism services and the spectrum of tourism offerings. The objectives and directions of investment programs aimed at developing rural tourism and the issues associated with its development are identified. For 59% of European countries, rural tourism is a direct priority in their development, and 66% of European countries have state investment programs for rural tourism. The research results showed an increase in the level of travel by tourists in the post-COVID-19 period, characterized by a desire for lower costs when consuming relevant services. It has been revealed that the policy directions of countries regarding the development of rural tourism can be direct or indirect as part of the overall tourism development policy. Rural tourism offerings have several drawbacks that have led to dissatisfaction with demand, and as a result, most travelers have a desire to receive rural tourism services but do not utilize them due to the aforementioned reasons. The study forms the structure of rural tourism services based on the examples within the European Federation of Rural Tourism Offerings and potential directions and strategies for their further development.

СТРАТЕГІЧНІ ПРІОРИТЕТИ ТУРИСТИЧНОЇ ДІЯЛЬНОСТІ ПІД ЧАС ВІЙНИ

The article highlights tourist activity, including economic activity, using the example of the cultural and artistic center "Polis`ka Khata" during 2019–2022, which includes the COVID-19 pandemic and a fullscale war with Russia. An assessment of the consequences caused by these phenomena has been carried out. Attendance and economic activity of the agricultural estate during 2016–2022 have been compared also. It has been determined that a wide range of tourist services is providing on the basis of the estate, this activity significantly expands the consumer`s audience and its tourist attraction. After analyzing the economic activity for four years, it has been established that tourist activity has a seasonal difference and also depends on the thematic events that take place on the territory of the agricultural estate. As a result of the analysis of economic activity for the period 2016–2022, a gradual increase in income has been established until the end of 2019 inclusive (before quarantine restrictions). Thus, the trend indicates a gradual increase in the demand for the tourist product in rural tourism and the active work of the manor`s owners to promote their tourist product on the tourist market. In order to systematize the problems and advantages of the development of rural tourism in the territory of Zhytomyr region, a SWOT analysis using the generalization of factual information has been made, the status of this type of activity has been carried out. It has been established that at the current stage, regardless of the political and economic situation in the country, rural tourism has turned into a self-sufficient business that is economically profitable, competitive and elastic. Nowadays, the demand for tourist services and the needs of consumers have changed the concept of the approach to creating a comprehensive tourist product in rural tourism. Despite the challenges of modernity (quarantine restrictions due to the COVID-19 pandemic, fierce competition) and the state of war in the country, rural tourism is a promising and effective direction of diversification of the economy of the United Territorial Communities (UTC).

TRENDS IN TOURIST FLOWS DURING THE PANDEMIC

The existence of certain cyclical fluctuations and periods of slowdown, primarily associated with the economic crisis at the end of the first decade of the 21st century, does not change the fact that the demand for tourist services in the world developed at a high rate during the analyzed period. The article analyzes according to data from the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), that in 2020 the number of international tourists decreased by 73%, or by 1.1 billion people. It was noted that in 2020, revenues from international tourism exports also fell by 63%, or $1.1 trillion USA. The direct contribution of tourism to the world GDP decreased by 2000 billion dollars. USA. International tourist arrivals in 2021 are shown to be down 72% or 1 billion people from 2019 and up 4% or 15 million people from 2020. A decrease in indicators of the dynamics of the development of international tourism was revealed. Due to the global economic recession and general geopolitical and social tensions in the world, as well as due to COVID-19. Negative global trends had a negative impact on tourist flows in general and the work of international travel agencies. It has been proven that the 73% drop in international tourism in 2020 was due to travel restrictions, tourists’ concerns about the pandemic situation and the global fight against the coronavirus. The trends in the development of international tourism in 2000-2021 have been studied and presented in detail. in the pre-pandemic period and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Іt has been proven that the tourism industry has suffered great losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as this pandemic has become the biggest challenge of 2020 and continues to have a negative impact not only on tourism, but also in general to intensify the economic and social crisis in the world. This is evidenced by the number of arrivals. 415 million international arrivals were registered globally in 2021, up from 400 million in 2020. After a weak first half of 2021, international tourism recovered moderately in the second half. Confirmed growth in demand in 2021 was driven by improved traveller confidence amid rapid vaccination progress and easing of entry restrictions in many destinations. The problems and opportunities that may arise in the tourism industry in the coming years have been studied.

Optimization of Digital Recommendation Service System for Tourist Attractions Based on Personalized Recommendation Algorithm

With the deepening of tourists’ demand for tourism services, the personalization of online tourists has gradually become an application of personalized recommendation technology. According to the application requirements of personalized scenic spot recommendation, this paper uses social networks and Bayesian networks to fully mine the matching degree between users and scenic spots for personalized recommendation. Add social network factors to the recommendation of tourist attractions, and fully tap the social network relationship between users. First, the users are clustered by the coupling bidirectional clustering algorithm. Then, DBSCAN (density-based noise application spatial clustering) algorithm is used to cluster scenic spots. Finally, two stable user sets and scenic spot sets are applied to the personalized recommendation algorithm to predict the user’s next upcoming scenic spot. The algorithm is compared with some traditional algorithms in the dataset. The algorithm deals with the similarity of user attributes and user behavior and uses content-based algorithm to deal with the relationship between scenic spots; com datasets have better performance.

The rating of Ukraine’s regional tourist systems according to their investment potential

The development and implementation of regional tourism development programs in Ukraine require the formation of the information environment for ranking the tourist systems of Ukraine’s regions according to the attractiveness of their investment potential, which determines the purpose of this study. The methods of economic analysis and rating modeling were used to rank regional tourism systems according to their investment potential by determining the integral indicator of the economic and tourist resources of each region. Accordingly, economic indicators are chosen to provide the regions with financial, labor, and production resources; tourism indicators include supply and demand for tourism services, availability of tourism resources, tourism efficiency, as well as tourism accommodation. According to the results of rating and grouping, three groups of regions were formed: the first (the priority in terms of investment potential of the tourist system has the value of the integrated indicator from 72.0 to 94.8); the second (values from 40.2 to 71.0, reflecting the average level of investment potential); and the third (values from 25.0 to 40.1 for regions with low investment potential). The rating of regional tourist systems reflects the development level of their potential; it is an indicator of the effectiveness of its management and information base necessary for management decisions of potential investors. The asymmetry of investment potential of regional tourism systems causes an imbalance in their competitiveness, so implementing regional and national programs will help intensifying their use and equalizing regions’ development. AcknowledgmentThe paper reflects the research results within the study carried out in 2021–2024 at the State University of Trade and Economics at the request of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine “Digital Transformation of Trade, Economic and Tourist Systems of Ukraine,” state registration number 0117U000503, and “Forecasting the impact of the tourist system on the country’s economy,” state registration number 0122U001559.

The Importance of Safety in Contemporary Consumer Behaviour in the Tourism Market

Until recently, the tourism industry was treated as the most dynamically developing sector of the economy. Tourism affects the national economies of many countries in the world by creating new jobs and stimulating GDP. However, the tourism sector has been hit hard by restrictions on the movement of tourists in the wake of the COVID-19 health crisis. The coronavirus outbreak has negatively impacted the travel industry around the world. Another phenomenon that weakens the tourism industry, mainly in the region of Central and Eastern Europe, is Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which causes concern among consumers of the tourism market. Already in the first days of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, tourists from Western Europe and the USA were looking for information on security in Poland. In addition, the war in Ukraine may also lead to a decline in demand for tourism services in the country. Fear wins, and the tourism industry is threatened with a crisis, now when it was just beginning to recover from its COVID debts. The aim of the article is to analyze the role of safety in contemporary consumer behaviour in the tourism market. The work is both theoretical and practical.

ОБЩИЕ ПРИНЦИПЫ ФОРМИРОВАНИЯ АРХИТЕКТУРЫ ТУРИСТИЧЕСКИХ ВИЗИТ-ЦЕНТРОВ ПРИ ЗАГОРОДНЫХ ПАРКАХ

The article discusses the prerequisites for the appearance of a visit center as a new type of public building that implements the functions of tourism. The main types of parks and conditions that make it expedient to create visit centers are highlighted. Functional differences of visit centers from other types of public buildings, which are formed at country parks of various thematic orientation and size, are determined. The functional composition of the visit centers and the nuances of its formation depending on the type of park in which it is created are analyzed. The aspects of the formation of the master plan and improvement of the visit center are given. The dependence of the construction of the functional structure of the visitor center on the seasonality factor characteristic of tourist activity is considered. The classification of business centers according to the parameter of total area and capacity is proposed, considering the features of the functional composition and the specifics of the organization of spaces. The principles of the architectural and planning organization of the centers are determined. Fluctuations in demand for tourist services are determined. The features of its spatial organization and architectural solutions are analyzed and identified. The role of communication spaces and the exploited roof of the center is highlighted as a specific factor in the integration of the building into the natural context. It is advisable to use in the architectural formation of the concept of a visit center.

Development of countryside accommodation facilities in the Russian Federation: problems and prospects

The development of domestic tourism is impossible without the creation of supporting infrastructure, primarily the necessary number of tourist accommodation facilities. At present, the countryside recreation outside cities in recreational areas, close to natural attractions is an important direction. In this regard, the issues related to the functioning of countryside accommodation facilities are relevant. The article aims to identify key problems hindering the optimal development of countryside accommodation facilities in the Russian Federation and to propose recommendations aimed at their solution. The theoretical basis is the works of domestic authors, analytical data of the Federal State Statistics Service, and the analytical service of the Association of Tour Operators of Russia, Rosagrotourism. General scientific methods and methodological approaches used: analysis, synthesis, system approach. The author of the article analyzes the indicators describing the tourism development in the Russian Federation from 2016 to 2021. The growth of demand for the services of countryside town accommodation facilities has been noted. The key problems hindering the development of the said facilities, including those in rural settlements, are analyzed. Recommendations aimed at solving these problems are provided.The increased demand for tourist services within the country, the need for recreation out of cities in recreational areas, consumer orientation towards eco-accommodation facilities, consuming natural products require the development of a set of measures aimed at the development of countryside accommodation facilities with a wide range of additional services, including agro-leisure activities. The increase in the number of countryside accommodation facilities in Russian regions will contribute to the development of domestic tourism, and redistribution of tourist flow, and will serve as a type of business diversifi cation for farmers and agricultural producers in rural areas.

Аналіз традиційних і новітніх чинників розвитку туристичного сектора України

The purpose of the article is a statistical analysis of traditional and novel factors of development of the tourism sector of Ukraine. The results of the carried out statistical analysis of traditional factors of development of the tourism sector showed that in Ukraine over the past ten years the demand for tourist services has increased more than 3 times. However, restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 led to a drop in the indicator to the level of 2002. During the study period, the share of outbound tourism increased significantly – from 14% in 2000 to 90% in 2020. According to research by the State Agency for Tourism Development (SATD), the COVID-19 pandemic affected the number of travels of a significant part of Ukrainians. 30% of all respondents, or 52% of those who traveled around Ukraine before, have significantly reduced the number of trips or stopped traveling in Ukraine altogether. However, the main reason for the low involvement of Ukrainians in domestic tourism is, first of all, the lack of funds and financial constraints, and only then – COVID restrictions. Among the criteria of regional factors are the organization, finance, self-government, knowledge and skills. The greatest impact on the regional factor have had the insufficient demand for services of the tourism sector, rising prices for tourist services, a meager share of tourism revenues in GDP, and a significant decrease in tax revenues from the tourism industry because of the hostilities. The analysis of the latest factors includes the resilience of health systems toward the rapid growth in the number of people with COVID-19. The number of patients with COVID-19 in Ukraine as of the end of August 2022 amounted to more than 5 million people, or 12.2% of the total population of Ukraine, of which more than 100 thousand died, i. e., 2.2% of the total population of Ukraine. However, the national vaccination program of Ukrainians has led to a decrease in the number of patients or a mild course of the disease. From the point of view of securitization, there have been changes in safety and health policy on the part of the authorities. To this end, the Ministry of Health has developed various documents for the provision of medical care in case of COVID-19. From a financial point of view, in 2020, the central government’s spending on healthcare has more than doubled. During the pandemic, the global tourism crisis caused the rise of domestic tourism. However, Russia’s military aggression has changed the trajectory of development not only of Ukrainian tourism sector, but also of the entire economy. However, in the post-war period, Ukrainians have every chance and obligation to qualitatively rebuild the country and the tourism sector in particular – for the future.

The Impact of COVID-19 on the Tourism and Hotel Business in the Kursk Region

The relevance of the study is determined by the critical situation of the tourism and hotel business in all regions of the country in the conditions of a new viral infection, including the Kursk region.The purpose of this study is to study the impact of COVID-19 on the tourism and hotel business in the Kursk region.Objectives: to identify the impact of COVID-19 on the state of the tourism and hotel business in the Kursk region; to clarify the ways out of the crisis situation; to study the features of attracting tourists under covid restrictions; to identify key economic and social consequences for the tourism and hotel business of the Kursk region in the context of the coronavirus pandemic.The methodology is presented by methods of scientific generalization, collection and processing of information, analysis and synthesis.The results of the study showed that in the conditions of a new viral infection, the tourist and hotel business of the Kursk region is experiencing a significant drop in tourist demand. The spread of a new viral infection did not scare citizens and entrepreneurs so much at first. However, the gradual absorption of country after country, an increasing number of infected and dead became not only the cause of fear of the people, but also the introduction of serious measures to combat the spread of COVID-19. One of the first measures was the restriction of visits to crowded places and the work of hotels, further, it became simply impossible to stay in a hotel. Travel agencies and hotels in the Kursk region still cannot finally "get back on their feet" despite the lifting of strict restrictions and the popularization of domestic tourism among citizens of the Russian Federation. There are no accumulated financial reserves that could mitigate the critical economic situation. It is very difficult for small enterprises of the tourism and hotel business to survive without government support in the current conditions.Conclusion. Travel agencies and hotels of the Kursk region in the conditions of a pandemic of a new viral infection risk not only not attracting new consumers of their services, but also losing a significant number of regular customers. For travel companies, the weakening of the tourist flow, both from foreign countries and domestic tourists, is a threat. Hotels in the region are also acutely dependent on the demand for tourist services. The dependence of the tourism and hotel business on government support is increasing. The coronavirus pandemic, at least in the medium term, will not allow tourism and hotel businesses to improve their economic situation.

THE CURRENT ECONOMIC STATE OF THE TOURISM INDUSTRY IN KAZAKHSTAN AND THE ASSESSMENT OF STRATEGIC INVESTMENTS IN ITS DEVELOPMENT (BASED ON MATERIALS FROM THE PAVLODAR REGION OF THE REPUBLIC OF KAZAKHSTAN)

The article examines the current state and economic trends in the functioning of the tourism industry in Kazakhstan. The object of the research is the economy of the Pavlodar region. The subject of the research is the tourism industry and strategic investments in its development. In the course of the study, special attention was focused on the dynamics of the nominal and real contribution of the tourism industry to the regional economy, the territorial distribution of tourism services and their structure, trends in employment and labor productivity, the production capacity of tourism organizations and the state of their fixed capital. When assessing the real contribution of the tourism industry to the development of the economy of the Pavlodar region, the dynamics of demand for tourist services from individuals and legal entities was investigated. For the development of the tourism industry, an integrated analytical assessment of strategic investments was carried out on the basis of forecasting the gross regional product and its growth rates, the share of tourism in the region’s economy, the dynamics of the volume of tourism services, and the return on assets of tourism organizations. Strategic investments in the development of the tourism industry are diversified in two priorities — fixed assets and human resources, including business processes. Implementation of the developed investment policy makes it possible to significantly increase the volume of tourism services in the region, triple labor productivity in the tourism industry, and strengthen the positive trends in the contribution of the tourism industry to the regional economy. The research carried out has a practice-oriented character. The research results will be used in the system of activities of the Regional Department of Tourism and Sports.

MARKETING ASPECTS OF TOURISM ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT AT THE REGIONAL LEVEL UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF GLOBAL TRENDS

The aim of the work was to investigate theoretical and applied problems of tourism business development taking into account regional specifics and trends of changes in the demand for tourist services under the influence of global influences and threats. The article notes the strategic role of the tourist industry for socio-economic development of the region. It shows the profitability of using the modern marketing approach for the tourism industry for activation of consumer’s consumption and formation of loyalty to tourist services with the aim of creating competitive advantages of tourist enterprises in the new realities. Revealed the main global trends in changes of popitu for tourist services and identified a number of priority tasks for representatives of the tourist business under their influence, The article describes the status of the tourist business under their influence, which is associated with the processes of automation, technology, informatization, digitalization in the key business processes of tourist activity. The state of tourist potential at the level of the region is characterized and peculiarities of carrying out tourist activity at the micro level – an enterprise represented at the regional tourist market and gives tourist services to its clients are analyzed. The new types of tourist services, which can be realized in the conditions of the region by the enterprise of tourism sphere are defined. The attitude of consumers to new types of tourist services thematic focus on the regional level and established measures for solving the revealed problems with the aim of developing new areas of tourist activity of the enterprise. Examined the tools of marketing communication, which is used by the company in the regional tourism market. Presented recommendations for improving marketing communications of enterprises in the tourism industry at the local level with the aim of enhancing the impact on the consumers of tourist services. The need for innovation in the field of tourism and implementation of new marketing technologies, namely digital and branding, was revealed, with the aim of keeping the attention of consumers and establishing long-lasting constructive contacts between the tourist enterprise and customers, which will contribute to the development of tourist activity in the region in view of the trends of global changes in the tourism industry.

UPDATING AND DEVELOPING AN ORGANIZATIONAL AND ECONOMIC MECHANISM FOR THE EFFECTIVE DEVELOPMENT OF REGIONAL TOURISM

The post-industrial description of the process of development of modern civilization determines the dominant position in the field of services and Information Technology in a number of sectors of the national economy. Tourism is one of the most dynamic «service» industries. The rapid development of tourism in the advanced countries of the world in recent decades is explained, first of all, by the growth of social labor productivity as a result of scientific and technological progress, an increase in the material well-being of the population and an improvement in the quality of life, which ultimately led to an increase in the share of tourist services in the structure of household expenses. Another factor in the development of tourism is an increase in free time and an increase in demand for tourist services. Currently, economic growth in the tourism sector in Kazakhstan is hindered by insufficient information openness, a focus on providing standard tourist services, which is contrary to the emerging opportunities of socio-economic communication innovations that have significantly changed the conditions and opportunities for implementing processes of interaction between people and elements of socio-economic systems, and a high level of income differentiation of the population (in relation to developed countries) that require diversification of the tourist product. Thus, the most important element that determines the effectiveness of the management of the tourist complex and individual economic entities that carry out their activities in this area is the level of development of the communication system. All the issues contained in the literature on determining the organizational and economic mechanism for the development of the tourism industry, the actual introduction of innovative approaches to the development of tourism at the micro level, the theoretical aspects of determining certain types of tourist activity, as well as the development of a methodology for calculating the effectiveness of tourist activity, remain insufficiently studied. Empirical research in this direction is still very small and is carried out at a sufficiently imperfect level. A very large number of factors studied attract attention. This is explained, in particular, by the uniformity of the research objects (levels of the state or economic zone). Due to the insufficient amount of source data and the lack of evidence for their correctness, along with methodological problems, industry differences are also problematic. Therefore, it is necessary to identify situational situations that affect the relationship between success factors and actual success. Scientific novelty of the conducted research: an organizational and economic model for improving the efficiency of the tourism industry of the region has been developed.

Оценка состояния, проблем и трендов развития рынка туристских услуг в регионах России на фоне пандемии коронавируса

The article examines the impact of the novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) pandemic on the tourism and hospitality industry. Based on an assessment of the scale of losses incurred by enterprises in this sector of the economy in an unfavorable epidemiological situation, it was concluded that tourism was among the industries most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The identified problems faced by small and medium-sized businesses from among tour operators and travel agencies confirmed the correctness of the measures of state support provided by the state to this sector of the economy. A comparative analysis of the development of the tourism sector in 2019 and 2020 in terms of such parameters as the number of inbound and outbound trips of citizens, the volume of demand for tourism services, made it possible to assess the threats and opportunities for the functioning of the tourism sector during the pandemic for the Russian economy and suggest that the recovery of the tourism industry it may take at least three years. There have been illustrated the diagrams comparing the demand for outbound and inbound tourism in 2019 and 2020, the demand for tourist services among different strata of the population, and hotel occupancy in Russia. In addition to identifying general factors that hinder the balanced growth of the Russian market of tourist services, the problem of information asymmetry was stated, which hinders the realization of the tourist potential in the regions: lack/ insufficient data, or distorted data on the tourism potential in certain territories. The highlighted trends in the development of the Russian tourism industry in the current conditions and promising trends in the tourism and hospitality industry include greening, digitalization, individualization of both demand and supply, an orientation towards domestic tourism.

Prospective models of tourist business organization

The paper examines the advanced models of the tourism business organization as a conceptual description of the creation of economic or social value for the consumer of services in real economic situations, the development of means of communication, and methods of conducting monetary transactions. It determines the directions of activation of economic activity types without which further formation of tourist business is slowed down, in particular travel journalism, cloudsourcing, business on joint use of property, couchsurfing, customization, partnership. The author suggests using travel journalism to promote tourist brands, form the image of resorts, promote destinations, increase demand for tourist services. Examples of perspective use of crowdsourcing tools in tourism are given. The directions of use of customization in tourism are substantiated, in particular expansion of sales channels, attraction of new segments of consumers, personalization of elements of service, specialization of tour operators in individual services. The essence of partner business in tourism is revealed, examples of partner programs of tour operators are given. The paper offers the classification of the basic models of tour operator activity, which is characterized by interaction with potential consumers and mechanisms of services monetization. The implementation of the strategy of improving existing tourism products does not ensure the achievement of established competitive advantages. Much greater opportunities to increase the competitiveness of the tourism business lie in the optimization of the business model. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the directions of expanding business models in the tourism business. The author uses scientific methods of comparison of archetypes of business models of tour operator activity, analysis of professional literature for the definition of tendencies in tourism, synthesis for substantiation of directions to use crowdsourcing in tourism.

Влияние маркетинговой среды на развитие гостиничной индустрии на современном этапе

The article considers the problem of studying the influence of the marketing environment on the development of the hotel industry at the present stage. An overview of the global hotel market is given, the main indicators of collective accommodation facilities in the Russian Federation over 2010–2019 are illustrated. The influence of the marketing environment on the development of the hotel industry at the present stage is revealed. The marketing environment of the tourism and hospitality industry has been studied, the most optimal methods for forecasting demand for hotel services have been identified, and recommendations for creating business planning algorithms in the hotel business have been developed. Attention is drawn to the fact that the business is currently experiencing a crisis caused by the pandemic. The statistical data are provided to compare the state of the market before the pandemic and at the end of the first half of 2020. There have been considered the legislative innovations aimed at stimulating the demand for tourist services. The analysis of the marketing environment of hotels in Astrakhan is carried out. There has been studied the impact on the development of the hospitality industry of such marketing strategies as cost reduction strategy, survival strategy, strategy of maximum and minimum prices, strategy of winning the market or part of it, and innovation strategy. The results of implementing these strategies in business have been analyzed. The most of the existing marketing strategies are designed to maximize income and increase sales; in modern conditions the leading principle of the development of the hospitality industry is keeping the company in the market. For the successful operation and profitability of the hotel business it is necessary to apply combined marketing strategies that are individual for each enterprise in the tourism sector.

Analysis of the ways of efficiency enhancement of transportation services in tourism

Tourism is one of the most dynamically developing fi elds of the world economy. Owing to the relai vely low-cost capital investment necessary to set up and develop tourism business, high levels of payback rates, constantly rising magnitude of demand for tourist services, tourism business has recently been drawing the at eni on of not only its poteni al customers, but also of entrepreneurs.

Military landscapes of the Pryvododilni Gorgany as a premise for increasing tourist attractiveness of the area (the case of the Chorna Klyva mountain)

The article examines the potential of military landscapes for promoting environmentally sustainable forms of active tourism (aimed at both natural sightseeing and military history of the area) in the Ukrainian Carpathians region focusing on the case of military landscapes of the mountain Chorna Klyva (the Bratkivskyi Ridge of the Pryvododilni Gorgany). The line of fortifications, which constitute their basis, used to belong to the so called “St. Laslo Line” built in 1939-1943 on the remains of the World War I fortifications. These fortifications (the system of trenches) were built in the upper parts of the mountain slopes allowing ideal observation of the lower areas and ensuring fire superiority along the border (at the time it was a border between Czechoslovakia and Poland. These trenches were designed in a way to organically use natural landscape features for both engineering and tactical purposes. Absence of intensive fighting as well as slow speed of natural recovery in that particular area contributed to a good state of their preservation often noted by occasional trail hikers. The goal of this article is to analyze both historical and natural conditions in which those landscapes have evolved as well as assess their current state. We discuss the prospects of promoting those landscapes as tourist attractions combining elements of natural scenery and sites of historical interest. The analysis is based upon historical geographic approach coupled with the original field observations. The article examines the most important features of those military landscapes, which can be used for tourism promotion in the area. An overview of comparable international experience in promoting military landscapes as tourist attractions is given to emphasize the potential of the area in question, which so far has been neglected by local communities and tourism businesses alike. We point out the factors limiting tourist flows, yet, at the same time, we argue that promotion of military landscapes will boost the number of visitors in the area generating demand for tourist services, hence promoting small business development. We argue that boosting such forms of tourism can bring positive effect to local communities and promote the area between Svydovets and Pryvododilni Gorgany ranges in the Chorna Tysa river basin for better preservation of the unique natural and historical sights. For the first time, a comprehensive study of historical events and natural landscapes in a specific area at the Chorna Klyva mountain has been performed with the focus on how human activities have conjoined with the natural landscape processes resulting in what we now call military landscapes. The obtained results prove that these military landscapes are of significant natural and historical value and can be successfully promoted as tourist attractions.

Application of marketing complex in the tourism. Instrumental-methodical apparatus of research

Tourism is an important sector that contributes to the development of the country's economy. To gain a larger share of this competitive sector, it is necessary to create more profitable new tourism markets and develop appropriate marketing strategies. This study examines the term niche marketing and niche market definition. The relationship between the marketing niche and other marketing methods is noted and its advantages and disadvantages are outlined. In addition, the application of the niche market in the tourism industry is indicated and the reasons for increasing the practice of marketing niches as a marketing strategy are identified. This study aims to present a concise status of niche marketing and thus create a basis for marketers and researchers. In the modern world community, the tourism industry occupies a very important economic niche. Over the past twenty years, many Western countries have replenished their wealth through the development of this industry. In Ukraine, tourism is not perceived as an independent and equal segment of the economy. The tourism industry is experiencing a period of formation both in the theoretical sense (as a scientific field) and in practice. One of the most important stages of tourism development is the marketing component: research, strategy and planning, but in the field of tourism these stages are given little attention. This fact is a very significant problem, as the growth in demand for tourism services is extensive, and companies selling tourism services have not been adapted to this. Enterprises in the field of tourism are engaged in the development of a new product, programs of various tours, pricing, improving the quality of the tourist product, as well as developments in the sale of such a product and the implementation of local and national marketing concepts. The main and specific role in the support and development of tourism at the international and national levels is played by the state. The experience of different countries shows that the success of tourism development directly depends on how the industry is perceived at the state level, how much it enjoys state support. In a number of countries, state programs have been developed to stimulate inbound tourism, which provide tax benefits, simplification of the customs regime, creating favorable conditions for investment in tourism, increasing budget allocations for infrastructure development, advertising in foreign markets, training of qualified personnel.