Tourism Changes in UA

[Ulysses]

From Kiev Post:

Ukraine▓s lackluster tourism industry could see significant growth by 2010 if the government finds a way to implement an ambitious eight?year investment program that calls for a major overhaul of the sector.

By implementing incentives, such as slashing hotel prices and making visas easier to obtain, tourism officials think the nation can lure 20 percent more visitors by 2010.

Valery Tsybukh, head of the newly created State Tourism Administration, said tourism▓s share of the country▓s gross domestic product could rise from the current 1.5 percent to 14 percent as a result.

The government hopes to fund the Hr 11 billion program principally with cash raised from private investors. Only about Hr 40 million in public funds will be committed to the effort.

The program is designed to develop the industry▓s infrastructure, improve service quality, simplify border?crossing procedures and lower tax rates for travel companies.

The plan▓s most important feature, Tsybukh said, is that tourists arriving in either Odessa or Simferopol would be able to obtain an eight?day visa on the spot from customs officials. Tourists will be able to extend them upon request.

Tsybukh said that the ability to obtain a short?term tourist visa upon arrival would be ⌠a big step forward,■ especially since the government has already repealed a requirement that foreigners register with OVIR within three days of arrival.

Tsybukh said that the new visa system would not go into effect until his office determines how much the new visa will cost and other details.

If the visa system is effective in Odessa and Crimea, the tourism administration hopes the government will gradually implement it nationwide.

⌠We plan to add more regions,■ he said. ⌠These will be Kyiv and the Carpathians.■

Representatives of travel agencies kept their enthusiasm for the plan in check.

⌠I would say [the plan] is better than nothing,■ said Yury Holovchenko, the director of the Odessa?based Modes travel agency.

⌠We▓ll see how simplified the procedure will be. The only thing I can say is that this decision should be [viewed as] a step by the government for us to develop our business,■ he said.

Holovchenko said Ukraine should make more of an effort to win over tourists who travel to neighboring Turkey, Bulgaria and Poland, where it is very easy to obtain visas.

Holovchenko said that Ukraine needs to do more than simplify visa procedures. It also needs to slash hotel rates.

Ukraine is notorious for the exorbitant rates charged for substandard accommodations. Kyiv▓s Salut Hotel, which lists itself as a three?star property, charges $115 for a single?occupancy room, according to all?hotels.com.ua, an Internet?based hotel booking service. A room at the Sport Hotel near Olympic Stadium goes for $100 a night. At the dilapidated Druzhba, listed as a two?star hotel, a bed for the night goes for $28 per person.

In Sophia, Bulgaria, three?star hotels rent from $45 to $50 a night, according to hotelsbulgaria.com.

Holovchenko said that one reason behind the high cost of staying in a Ukrainian hotel is that the rates include a 20 percent room tax.

⌠The government should reconsider the [tax],■ he said. Hotels and their guests don▓t get value from the government in return, Holovchenko said.

Tsybukh said that a room tax rate cut is part of the tourist administration▓s plan. If adopted by the government, the rate would be slashed to 5 percent.

Tsybukh said that while the tax presently generates Hr 40 million a year for the government, the country▓s 1,300 hotels operate at an average 25 percent occupancy rate. A lower room tax could mean busier hotels, he said, ultimately generating higher revenue to the state budget.

In addition to accommodations and service that are below Western standards, travel agencies say that one of the most odious aspects for a foreigner visiting Ukraine is a legal provision that requires foreign tourists to pay more than their Ukrainian counterparts and CIS citizens for hotel rooms, museums and airfare for domestic flights.

⌠Many people who come to our country do not understand why they should pay more than citizens of Russia or Ukraine,■ said Tetyana Lysenko, the general director of the Krym Service travel agency, which is based in Yalta. ⌠Unfortunately, this could be a deterrent.■

Tsybukh said that the tourism administration is already thinking about ways to level prices for all tourists, Ukrainian and foreign alike.

⌠It is impossible to tell right now how the prices will change, but they will not be raised up to the level of what Europeans pay,■ Tsybukh said.

While travel agencies generally welcome the proposed changes for their industry, they say a great deal more needs to be done to make improvements, particularly on the side of hospitality.

⌠In the airport, foreigners are held up for a couple of hours before being allowed to enter the country,■ Krym Service▓s Lysenko said. ⌠The customs and passport control officers do not speak English or German, and they are not friendly.■

Tsybukh said that the government recognizes that problem as well, and is considering training programs for tourism?industry workers.

[rockiniowa]

Hello to everybody.

I was just trying to find out how to obtain a visa to travel to Ukraine, and I was amazed to find out that I actually have to go personally to the embassy or a consulate of Ukraine in the US. This is VERY inconvenient.

I live in Iowa, and the closest consulate office is in Chicago, that▓s a five-hour trip in car! I▓d definitely get the visa first before buying an air ticket, so I will have to go to Chicago long before my actual trip. I just hate to have to drive or fly to Chicago (and stay there for at least one night in a hotel) just to get a visa.

I think that this newly created State Tourism Administration should allow visa seekers to apply to a tourist visa by mail, which is the standard method of doing business in other parts of the world≈or at least in the United States. This will definitely promote US tourism to Ukraine.

A better idea for this agency is to allow US citizens to travel to Ukraine without a visa, such as is the case to Mexico. That is, US residents don▓t need a visa for a short visit to Mexico, for example. The same is true for most countries in Latin America.

The Ukrainian government would surely lose some revenue from the elimination of visa processing tax, but I am sure that it will get much more money from an increment of US tourism to Ukraine--and especially a higher influx of a hard currency into the country in general.

Carlos

[UAvisa_com]

Please visit our web site at http://www.UAvisa.com and find solutions to all your worries.

Thank you,
UAvisa.com

[Wayne]

I had no trouble, whatsoever, in obtaining a Ukrainian visa by mail to the Chicago Consulate. I visited their website, printed the application form provided there, followed all instructions to the letter, paid the fees, and sent the package by UPS as requested. Less than one month later I received my visa by UPS delivery to my front door.

I must say that I did have a friend in Ukraine whose address listed on the visa provided valuable assistance. As a visitor without a contact in Ukraine you would list the name of the hotel where you would be staying.

Wayne

[rockiniowa]

Wayne,

Thanks for your answer. The reason why I said that I have to go to Chicago in person was because that is what I was told in a Travel Agency (a real, not online, travel agency in my hometown of Iowa).

Also the web site of the Consulate of Ukraine says, in http://www.ukrchicago.com/consular/e...visas/how.html, that:

"At the Consulate General of Ukraine in Chicago applications are accepted in person only between 9:15 and 11:30 a.m., Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday (no applications are accepted on Wednesday)."

Where "in person" is bolded. Well that▓s the part I READ FIRST, and I guess I skipped the rest of the webpage, because later they talk about a section "if you apply by mail." So I am not sure if I should do it by mail since my trip is coming soon. I might give a call to those guys in uavisa.com to see what they have to say. I think I could use them if their fee is reasonable.


Carlos