This year, Ukraine lands at Fitur in a very different way than in past editions, but with a clear message. “The first thing we want is to thank everyone and Spain for supporting us“, explains to RTVE.es Mariana Oleskiv, president of the State Agency for the Development of Tourism of Ukraine.
The country arrives at this international tourism fair not for the purpose of attracting travelers, but to show the damage that the infrastructures and historical heritage of their cities are suffering from the invasion of Russia. “Ukraine wants to reflect what it was and what it wants to be again,” says Antonio Santos, president of the Tourism and Society Think Tank (TSTT), which has developed the program meet ukraine (Get to know Ukraine) presented in this 42nd edition of Fiturwhich hopes to attract more than 250,000 visitors and exceed the numbers of 2019, before the pandemic.
In this context, it seeks to attract international focus to develop cooperation agreements and encourage business investment from various countries. Santos considers that Fitur is “the perfect showcase” because it is a connection center with the rest of Europe and the world.
Raise the voice of Ukraine and attract investment to rebuild the country
Ukraine comes to the fair in order to strengthen its relationship with the global environment and attract investment to rebuild their country. “It is important to be here at Fitur to raise the voice of Ukraine and remind the world that there is still a war,” Oleskiv tells us, so his mission is not focused on attracting travelers, but on attracting international focus: “We do not invite tourists to go to Ukraine now because we are waiting for the right moment, when it is completely safe.”
The Ukrainian space this year has been provided free of charge by Ifema and is one of the most modest in the venue. Covered with the blue and yellow of its flag and under the motto Be brave, support Ukraine (Be brave, support Ukraine), has several tables and chairs, but focuses his attention on a panel where the word “thank you” appears in several languages and where some visitors to the fair have decided to write some messages of support.
This place, therefore, acts as a nerve center where statements from Ukrainian diplomatic sources converge, such as that of Oleskiv, and the expressions of support from those interested who pass by. “In the coming years many of our destinations will be seen, we will show the beauty of our country and the message will be different: visit Ukraine“, notes the chairperson of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine.
““There are many countries committed to helping us, it’s like a ‘Marshall Plan’ for Ukraine when the war is over.”“
In order to do so, he points out that two factors must be met: first, that the war ends and that Western Europe has military support; and later, that the countries invest in the reconstruction of their infrastructures. “There are many countries committed to helping us, it’s like a ‘Marshall Plan’ for Ukraine when the war is over,” he tells us. Oleskiv even open the doors to entrepreneurs, whom he invites to go to cities like kyiv, even if it’s complicated: “If you are an investor or a businessman, you can also cooperate with Ukraine by coming on volunteer missions or with the official support of the Government. It is possible to make this type of visit, although it is not yet the time for tourists.”
Thus, Ukraine comes to Fitur with the aim of forging relations with Europe and the rest of the world, asking for a military and economic boost to fully resume its tourist activity in the future. “When we are ready, we will invite you all to come to Ukraine, we will let you know.“Oleskiv says.
The Ukrainian presence at the fair concludes this Sunday and includes meetings in search of these alliances, with institutional and business representatives and the accompaniment of the Madrid Business Forum entity.
Closer – Tourism in Post-War Ukraine – Listen Now
‘Meet Ukraine’: make visible the before and after the war
In addition, the country arrives this year with a program of events organized under the name of meet ukraine Y developed by TSTT, a space made up of various tourism professionals of different nationalities and which started working with the Ukrainian delegation about three weeks ago.
This initiative promotes cultural and institutional meetings during the course of Fitur to “create a bridge of collaboration between Ukraine, Spain and all interested countries”, as indicated by TSTT [ver PDF]. Ukraine thus intends to rebuild itself under the umbrella of this international event. “We saw that tourism could be a very interesting tool to create real development bridges,” Santos tells us, and for this reason they decided to develop it with the collaboration of some officials from the European Union and Ukrainian authorities.
““In Ukraine there were a million people who lived from tourism: guides, workers in hotels, travel agencies and airports”“
It revolves around several objectives, but they all have a common component: give visibility to the situation that Ukraine is experiencing and start the recovery of its tourist fabric. “In Ukraine there were a million people who lived off tourism: guides, workers in hotels, travel agencies and airports,” he explains, adding that now some of these jobs are done by their wives because many of them have had to go to the forehead.
““We are working during the war, not 20 years later evaluating the impact”“
In this scenario, it stands out that the key to this initiative is reinvigorate all the tourist and commercial activity lost by the war: from rebuilding roads, airports, hotels and communications, to training new professionals within the sector. This is a “primary objective” and urgent, according to the expert, since “the tourism industry moves a lot of money, not only in development but in its development.” In addition, he also highlights that the usefulness of this project lies in acting during the conflict: “That is why I find it such an interesting program: we are working during the war, not 20 years later evaluating the impact“.
meet ukraine It aims to raise awareness and show the impact that the destruction of its infrastructure and historical and artistic heritage is having. “What Ukraine wants is to reflect what it was, showing the before and after of cities like Kharkov, which in the days of the Soviet Union was the capital of culture, arts and sports,” explains Santos.
This Wednesday the 43rd edition of Fitur was inaugurated, which this year focuses on sustainability, innovation and recovering foreign tourism after the pandemic.
Reflect your feeling of belonging to Europe
Another of his motivations is narrow the sociological distance that separates them from Europe. According to Santos, the Ukrainian population is very pro-European and many of its citizens have worked or studied on the continent, although now they have had to return to the front. However, he points out that their presence in Fitur also serves to remind them of their feeling of belonging to Europe, since “they do not understand why we are now discovering that Ukraine is Europe”.
In addition to these aspects, Ukraine seeks to reactivate its tourism strengthening international collaboration, not only with Spain, but with other countries such as the United States, Canada and others in Latin America. As an addition, Santos recalls that Ukraine is also in Fitur with the goal of materializing the twinning of cities with concrete actions and projects: “The coming-out of all this was to present this in an international project like Fitur. It is true that we considered other fairs, such as the one in London, but we saw that Fitur was a perfect place because it is the union of Madrid with Europe, America and Africa”.
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