Leading Researcher of the Department of regional ecological policy and environmental management of the Dolishniy Institute of Regional Research of NAS of Ukraine
The article addresses the widespread presence of the tourism and recreation industry as one of the priority objectives of the Ukrainian regions’ development strategies at the lack of tools to assess its competitiveness. It dwells on the issues of methodology and techniques to assess the competitiveness of the tourism and recreation industry in a region. The features of the concept of competitiveness with regard to the tourism and recreation industry and its regional systems are examined. The reasonability of integrating the concepts of sectoral and regional competitiveness at its assessment at the regional level is emphasized, and the suggested interpretations of these concepts are analyzed. The article analyzes the studies related to the assessment of the competitiveness of the tourism and recreation industries of the countries and regions worldwide, namely, the methodological grounds and techniques for calculating the Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index (TTCI). The position of Ukraine in the rankings of the 2019 Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Index issued by the World Economic Forum and the values of some estimation parameters are determined. Low ranking positions of Ukraine by the assessment of natural resources, environmental, civil, and social security, and business environment are emphasized. These factors are of utmost importance for the development of the tourism and recreation industry in the country and, in fact, are the decisive ones for international competitiveness of the country and its regions. The differences in the assessment of the competitiveness of the tourism and recreation industries of the regions on the global and national scales are outlined. The author makes conclusions regarding the possibility to use the TTCI methodology to assess the competitiveness of the tourism and recreation industries in the regions of Ukraine, albeit with the need to adjust the indicators of assessment parameters based on the use of expert evaluations and taking into account the peculiarities of the domestic statistics system and the pursuit of the minimization of the assessment subjectivity.
competitiveness, tourism and recreation industry, region, assessment, methods, parameters
The paper substantiates the approaches to improving the mechanisms of economic-environmental regulation in Ukraine in current management conditions with the focus on the taxation tools based on evaluation of European experience in implementing the polluter pays principle. The author argues that environmental tax generates over 6% of all tax revenues in the EU Member States at the 0.56% rate in Ukraine. The insignificant role of environmental tax in the system of taxation fails to stimulate the environmentally friendly activity of economic entities, while the funds from environmental tax fail to cover state expenditures on environmental protection. The situation needs changes in terms of improving the environmentalization of the tax system in Ukraine with the increase of the share of environmental tax in the total tax revenues to the European level and simultaneous decline in tax burden by other types of taxes to avoid the growth of the tax burden on economic entities. The suggested scheme of environmental transformation of the tax system in Ukraine stipulates the following: increasing the share of environmental taxes and bringing it up to 6% of tax revenues; simultaneous reduction of the corporate income tax by the appropriate amount. Meanwhile, the environmental tax revenues should be increased by over 10 times, in the first place by bringing the rates of the tax on carbon dioxide emissions from stationary sources closer to global rates ($ 10-15 per ton) to secure about a half of environmental tax revenues. It should include fuel and transport taxes with the rates that can secure revenues in the amount of about UAH 10 billion. Other environmental taxes should be increased 5 times. The proportions of environmental tax revenues division between general and specific funds of budgets with gradual increase of the share of specific nature protection funds revenues are offered.
A set of problems of improvement of the mountain territories’ social and economic development policy (mountain policy) in Ukraine are outlined. National legislative maintenance of mountain policy is assessed and conclusions over the non-compliance with the established public guarantees of mountain territories’ social and economic development and the fallacy of orientation exclusively on direct budget assistance are made. The fact that the approach is inefficient and requires enhancement in terms of introducing the stimuli for investment attraction from extrabudgetary sources with gradual waiving of benefits for rural residents, creation of favourable conditions for entrepreneurship activity and maintenance of multi-profile economic development of mountain territories is proven. The importance of improving their economic competitive ability and creation of new jobs to prevent mountains’ depopulation is emphasized. The examples of the best European practices of mountain territories’ development, recommended to be introduced in Ukraine, are given, including: improvement of transport, social and public infrastructure in mountain regions; development of the concepts and programs of mountain territories’ development and state assistance to implementation of projects provided by them; creation of mountain territories’ support funds; providing subsidies to agricultural producers in mountain areas and promoting of their cooperation; assistance to the development of the sphere of tourism, resorts, traditional crafts and industries; promotion of jobs creation in mountain areas in the types of industrial activity, which do not have harmful environmental impact, orienting at the sphere of small and medium business; taking the specifics of mountain territories into account in the mechanisms of financial and budget equalization, etc. Special attention is paid to the importance of state assistance to economic development of mountain territories. The mechanism of investment activity stimulation at mountain territories is suggested. Peculiarities of the Law of Ukraine № 6439 «On amendments to some laws of Ukraine on strengthening the government guarantees for mountain and highland settlements» accepted to consideration by Verhovna Rada of Ukraine, which, in particular, stipulates allocation of the category of highland settlements, are outlined. Highland settlements are the mountain settlements located at 600 meters and higher above sea level. The article also provides the authors’ data on location of mountain settlements of Ukraine by absolute altitude.
The paper researches major results of decentralization reform conducted in Ukraine in 2015-2017, which stipulates creation of modern local self-governance system, in particular, forming of capable territorial communities through their consolidation. 665 consolidated territorial communities were created in the period, consisting of 28,3% of rural, town and city councils, which had existed before the reform. Meanwhile, consolidated territorial communities have gained budget independency and certain additional financial resources due to growth of tax and non-tax revenues, public subventions for solution of urgent social and economic development issues and increased opportunities to receive assistance from State Regional Development Fund, etc. It makes communities’ consolidation very attractive. However, only the communities consolidated according to perspective plans of community territories’ forming adopted in due course can get preferences. However, approaches to their development raise the warnings. The most complicated questions arise in initiation of creation of economically low-power rural consolidated territorial communities. In this context, the directions of realization of community’s economic capacity through creation of new job places, development of entrepreneurship and more efficient use of land and real property are outlined on the example of Dunayivska consolidated territorial community in Peremyshlyanskyi region of Lvivska oblast. Development of agricultural sector and tourism sphere at rural territories is emphasized, which should be deemed as an efficient factor of overcoming the single-industry nature of rural economy. Regarding the Dunayivska consolidated territorial community, solution of tourism entrepreneurship development issues is suggested to be commenced with elaboration of the program of tourism strategic development at local level, which should include the activities on creation of green tourism resorts at existing households as well as private places of tourists’ accommodation on the basis of buildings under exploitation; organization of horse riding, hiking and cycling routs; development and promotion of local crafts: pottery, carpentry, weaving, decorating of Easter eggs, wood carving, basket weaving, etc. Special attention is also paid to the urgent need for introduction of amendments to current mechanism of budget equalization and providing of public subventions (medical, educational, etc), taking rural areas’ features into account.
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Zhuk, P. V. (2013). Pryrodno-resursnyy potentsial ta pryrodnyy kapital u paradyhmi staloho rozvytku Karpat·s'koho rehionu [Natural resource potential and natural capital in the paradigm of sustainable development of the Carpathian region]. In Sotsial'no-ekonomichni problemy suchasnoho periodu Ukrayiny [Socio-economic problems of the modern period of Ukraine]: Vol. 5(103) (pp. 48-57). [in Ukrainian]. {sep2019.03.003.010}
Siryk, Z. O., & Zhuk P., V. (2017). Investytsiynyy potentsial terytorial’nykh hromad: sut’ ponyattya ta pytannya upravlinnya [Investment potential of territorial communities: the essence of the concept and issues of management]. Rehional’na ekonomika – Regional economy, 2, 16-22. [in Ukrainian]. {sep2020.01.010.025}
Siryk, Z. O., & Zhuk, P. V. (2017). Investytsiynyy potentsial terytorial’nykh hromad: sut’ ponyattya ta pytannya upravlinnya [Investment potential of territorial communities: the essence of the concept and issues of management]. Rehional’na ekonomika – Regional economy, 2, 16-22. [in Ukrainian]. {sep2020.02.046.004}
Zhuk, P. V., & Siryk, Z. V. (2017). Investytsiynyy potentsial terytorial’nykh hromad: sut’ ponyattya ta pytannya upravlinnya [Investment potential of territorial communities: the essence of the concept and issues of management]. Rehional’na ekonomika – Regional economy, 2, 16-22. [in Ukrainian]. {sep2020.03.032.007}
Kravtsiv, V. S., & Zhuk, P. V. (2020). Ekolohichne opodatkuvannya v Ukrayini u yevropeis’komu vymiri [Environmental taxation in Ukraine in the European dimension]. Finansy Ukrayiny – Finance of Ukraine, 6, 8-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.33763/finukr2020.06.008 [in Ukrainian]. {sep2021.04.022.014}
Zhuk, P. V. (2022). Turystychno-rekreatsiyna sfera rehionu yak ob»yekt doslidzhennya konkurentospromozhnosti [Tourism and recreation industry of a region as an object of competitiveness research]. Rehional’na ekonomika – Regional economy, 2(104), 17-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36818/1562-0905-2022-2-2 [in Ukrainian]. {sep2022.05.038.002}
Kravtsiv, V. S., Storonyanska, I. Z., & Zhuk, P. V. (2017). Reformuvannya terytorial’noyi osnovy mistsevoho samovryaduvannya v konteksti yoho finansovoyi spromozhnosti [Reforming the territorial basis of local self-government in the context of its financial solvency]. Ekonomika Ukrayiny – Economy of Ukraine, 1, 41-51. [in Ukrainian]. {sep2023.01.012.008}
Zhuk, P. V. (2022). Turystychno-rekreatsiyna sfera rehionu yak ob»yekt doslidzhennya konkurentospromozhnosti [Regional tourism and recreation domain as an object of competitiveness research]. Rehional’na ekonomika – Regional economy, 2(104), 17-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36818/1562-0905-2022-2-2 [in Ukrainian]. {sep2023.01.048.003}
Zhuk, P. V. (2022). Turystychno-rekreatsiyna sfera rehionu yak ob"yekt doslidzhennya konkurentospromozhnosti [Regional tourism and recreation domain as an object of competitiveness research]. Rehional’na ekonomika – Regional Economy, 104(2), 17-24. DOI: https://doi.org/10.36818/1562-0905-2022-2-2 [in Ukrainian]. {sep2024.01.011.001}
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