Domestic tourism contributing greatly to the development of the hospitality industry - Iryna Kut

Domestic tourism is now contributing greatly to the development of the hospitality industry, Iryna Kut said in comments to the agency Interfax-Ukraine on Friday.

The war in Ukraine destroyed more than 10 hotels in different regions of the country.  However, in the period from 2024 to 2026, more than 40 new hotel complexes and about a hundred hotel-type cottage towns are to open in the country. The wave of development in the hotel industry, mainly in western Ukraine, was triggered by domestic tourism, explains Iryna Kut, an expert in tourism and hotel services. 

‘On the one hand, Ukraine has lost a number of tourist areas due to their occupation and active hostilities. On the other hand, we have closed skies and travelling outside the country for tourism and leisure purposes is very limited today. And their cost has increased significantly on average due to complicated logistics for tourists. At the same time, all of this has triggered the development of domestic tourism. And this demand was felt by domestic construction companies and developers in a timely manner. The latter have already demonstrated high efficiency at the first new facilities, and as a result, the number of chain hotels managed by national operators is growing in Ukraine today,’ explains Iryna Kut. 

Iryna Kut adds that immediately after the end of the war, we can safely predict an increase in the number of hotels managed by international operators. 

‘As for the regions, the most active hotel chains and apart-hotels are currently being built in Bukovel, Skhidnytsia, Yaremche, Vinnytsia and Lutsk, as well as in Khmelnytsky and Chernivtsi.  
According to estimates, by 2026, about 40-45 new hotel and apartment complex projects are expected to be completed in Ukraine. This is about 6,500 rooms that will appear on the market. To this should be added another 108 hotel-type cottage towns that are currently at different stages of construction,’ says Iryna Kut.

The expert adds that this business is currently showing high profitability. For example, in 2024, the average occupancy rate was in the range of 34-38%, and in some popular regions (western regions of Ukraine) it exceeded 60-70%, says Iryna Kut. 

According to her, the internal displacement of Ukrainian citizens caused by the war has proved to be a contributing factor to the recovery of the tourism industry. 

‘13 regions of Ukraine, including Lviv, Zakarpattia, and Ivano-Frankivsk, in particular, have exceeded the pre-war tourism revenues of 2021,’ Iryna Kut added.