German Operator Intends to Send Tourists to Ukraine

 Berlin tour operator MediKur-Reisen signed a cooperation agreement with the Crimean Ministry of Resorts and Tourism during one of the world’s largest tourism summits ITB Berlin 2013. The German company will send its experts to 15 sanatoriums in southern Ukraine, where they will pick three to four sites to send their German customers as early as September 2013, reported Oleksandr Liyev, Minister of Resorts and Tourism of Crimea.

MediKur-Reisen delegation will arrive in Ukraine in April 2013 and visit Crimea, including the cities of Saky and Yevpatoria. Currently, MediKur-Reisen offers its customers trips to more than 300 destinations in 13 countries, including Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Egypt, Hungary, Italy, Jordan, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, and Turkey.

Ukraine participated in ITB Berlin 2013 on March 6-10, 2013, where it advertised its tourist potential to the exhibition’s 170,000 visitors. Ukrainian booth featured information about 11 regions of the country, as well as themed sections on the upcoming hosting of the EUROBASKET 2015. Interestingly, Cologne Business School, Germany, named Ukraine the fifth best exhibitor in the category Europe.

Ukraine has one of the largest sanatorium networks in Europe. The Eastern European country inherited the collection of health-promoting venues from its Soviet past. At the time, fortnight stays at the designated health resorts were considered to be an alternative to vacations at recreation facilities. At sanatoriums, vacationers could undergo a series of health treatments, including balneotherapy, Charcot’s douche, climatotherapy, dieting, massage, mineral spa, physical therapy, etc.

In 2012, Ukraine welcomed more than 940,000 tourists. Nearly 56,000 tourists came from Germany. In 2012, Ukraine scored high in six international tourism ratings. Globe Spots, National Geographic, Trip Advisor and The Lonely Planet ratings named Ukraine one of the top 10 destinations for 2013. The country’s tourist prospects changed from being an outsider to a must-see after hosting Europe’s major sport event – EURO 2012 football championship.

To prepare for the championship, Ukraine built stadiums, roads, railways, and airports. Enhanced infrastructure allowed accommodation of large amounts of tourists coming to EURO 2012 host cities – Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv, and Lviv.