RESOURCE ASPECTS OF SPORTS TOURISM DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE IN THE POST-WAR PERIOD

Abstract

The article investigates the problems of the development of sports hiking tourism in Ukraine associated with the annexation of Crimea in 2014 and the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in 2022. It was established that as a result of the aggressive policy of the Russian Federation, significant territories were temporarily lost or became inaccessible (up to 40% in general), which have important resources for the development of hiking tourism in Ukraine. At the same time, about 174,000 square kilometers are potentially contaminated with explosives, which is 30% of the country's territory. The prospects for replacing the resources of temporarily inaccessible territories for hiking tourism with other regions of Ukraine in the post-war period have been researched. Studies of the consequences of the annexation of Crimea and the prospects for replacing temporarily lost camping resources at the expense of other regions of continental Ukraine established the following: continental Ukraine has the necessary replacement resources practically for all types of sports hiking tourism; the redistribution of tourist flows will increase the popularity among hikers of such previously underestimated areas of Central and Western Ukraine as Podilia, Polissia, and Bukovina. Research into the effects of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation in 2022 on the development of sports tourism have shown that tourism activities and hiking are not prohibited in Ukraine, and local restrictions and bans are determined by resolutions of the Military and local administrations. In general, Western and certain regions of Central Ukraine remained available for hiking. At the same time, most of the hiking activity in 2022–2023 was concentrated in the Carpathians, except for the border areas. A comparative analysis of sports and tourism potentials has been carried out: throughout Ukraine; annexed Crimea; territories contaminated with explosive objects, and remaining regions accessible for hiking. It is established that after 2014 the sports and tourism potential of the Crimean Mountains was gradually replaced by the resources of the Carpathians, Podilia, Polissia, and Bukovina, as well as the trekking routes of Southwestern Turkey. It is established that the polluted regions have a resource value of local importance for hikes of low complexity. At the same time, the regions accessible for hiking have a sports and tourism potential comparable to the potential of integral Ukraine, and therefore, in the next decade after the Victory in the war, they will be able to successfully replace the potential of mined and contaminated territories.