The revenue of Ukrainian travel agencies dropped by 60% in 2020, according to Pavlo Hryhorash, the chief executive of the Ukrainian Travel Agencies Association.
Many local agencies have closed or suspended their business as international borders were closed and people traveled less during the COVID-19 pandemic. Hryhorash told the Kyiv Post that the Ukrainian agencies lacked state support that would have helped them withstand the global crisis.
The number of Ukrainian tourists traveling abroad during the pandemic dropped by 70% — from 2.5 million in 2019 to 750,000 in 2020. Hryhorash said that it is hard to estimate the exact number because local tourism businesses still haven’t released their own reports.
Turkey was the most popular destination among Ukrainians in 2020, Hryhorash said. The country opened its borders earlier in July so Ukrainian tourists flocked to the Turkish resorts in spite of the quarantine. As of October 2020, over 520,000 Ukrainians traveled to Turkey since July 1, making them the fourth most numerous group of tourists there after Germans, Russians and Bulgarians.
Egypt was the second-most-popular tourist destination among Ukrainians, especially in winter, Hryhorash said. However, the number of flights from Ukraine to Egypt decreased by nearly 59% during the pandemic — from 176 flights per week in 2019 to 72 flights per week in 2020.
According to Hryhorash, Turkey and Egypt brought Ukrainian travel agencies even more profit in 2020 than in 2019. Nearly 80% of local tourists bought package holidays to Turkey and Egypt because they couldn’t afford to plan their own vacations
Last year Ukrainians also traveled to the Dominican Republic, the Maldives and the United Arab Emirates, Hryhorash said. European countries were not as popular as usual because many of them were closed.
Despite the crisis, all of Ukraine’s big tour operators, including Join UP!, Anex Tour, TUI Ukraine and Coral Travel continued to work. Many of them arranged tours to Turkey and Egypt, helping them to stay afloat.
The travel industry could do better in 2020 if the government supports it, Hryhorash said. Ukraine has exempted travel agencies from paying the $38 social tax for three months but local businesses said it wasn’t enough.
Ukrainian travel agencies couldn’t even apply for $283 in state economic assistance to support their workers and avoid layoffs. Only officially registered entrepreneurs who work in the retail, hospitality, sports, culture or entertainment industries could get state relief.
Today, Ukrainian borders are open and local travel agencies were allowed to work even during the strict quarantine from Jan. 8 through Jan. 24. They can arrange trips to 76 countries, including Turkey, Bulgaria, Cambodia and South Korea.
Meanwhile, Ukrainians are completely forbidden to travel to the Scandinavian countries, Portugal, Hungary, Romania, Argentina and Estonia.
Most Western European countries remain closed to tourists, including Ukrainians.
However, closed EU countries still let in those who have the necessary permits. The U.K and France, for example, let people in if they can prove that they work, study, own property or have relatives there, or if they are diplomats or medics.
Before boarding a plane, each traveler must present proof of a negative COVID-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test, the most accurate way to diagnose the novel coronavirus. On board, people are required to wear facemasks.
Most EU countries, including Britain and Italy, require international arrivals to undergo a 14-day quarantine. In some countries, arrivals even have to install tracking apps on their phones to prove they are abiding by the quarantine rules.
