The attractiveness of tourism in the conditions of modern challenges: methodology, assessment, prospects

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of this study is to develop a methodological tool for assessing the level of tourism attractiveness in the country and to analyse the socio-economic consequences of the war for Ukrainian and international tourism on this basis. Design/methodology/approach. A method of integral assessment of the attractiveness of tourism at the macro level has been developed. The integral index includes 30 partial indicators describing the economic, political and legal, social, cultural and health, infrastructure and environmental pillars of the attractiveness of the country for tourists. The integral assessment of tourism attractiveness is conducted using the case of Ukraine and Poland in 2017-2022. Findings. According to the comparative analysis performed based on the integral index, the level of tourism development in Poland was significantly higher compared with Ukraine. The most obvious lag was evident in the political and legal, cultural and recreational, environmental and infrastructural components. The gaps in tourism development are increased by the influence of the war, where an especially harmful impact was felt in the social, economic and environmental spheres. Originality. The originality and advantages of our approach are in using the official statistical data available for the objective estimation of the holistic attractiveness of tourism in a country, as well as the possibility of comparing a certain country in terms of touristic attractiveness with any other country considering differences in the values of partial indicators. The gaps obtained in the values of partial indicators can be used by policymakers in strategies for tourism development. © 2023 Mykolo Romerio Universitetas. All rights reserved.