Tourism in Ukraine


Ukraine used to attract more than 20 million foreign citizens every year. But since 2014 this has lowered to about 10 million. Visitors primarily come from Eastern Europe, but also from Western Europe as well as Turkey and Israel.
Ukraine is a destination on the crossroads between central and eastern Europe, between north and south. It borders Russia and is not far from Turkey. It has mountain ranges – the Carpathian Mountains suitable for skiing, hiking, fishing and hunting. The coastline on the Black Sea is a popular summer destination for vacationers. Ukraine has vineyards where they produce native wines, ruins of ancient castles, historical parks, Orthodox, Catholic and Protestant churches as well as a few mosques and synagogues. Kiev, the country's capital city has many unique structures such as Saint Sophia Cathedral and broad boulevards. , such as the harbour town Odesa and the old city of Lviv in the west. Most of Western Ukraine, which used to be within the borders of the Republic of Poland before World War II, is a popular destination for Poles. Crimea, a little "continent" of its own, had been a popular vacation destination for tourists for swimming or sun tanning on the Black Sea with its warm climate, rugged mountains, plateaus and ancient ruins, though the tourist trade has been severely affected by Russia's occupation and annexation of the territory in 2014. Cities there include: Sevastopol and Yalta – location of the peace conference at the end of World War II. Visitors can also take cruise tours by ship on the Dnieper River from Kiev to the Black Sea coastline. Ukrainian cuisine has a long history and offers a wide variety of original dishes.
The country's tourism industry is generally considered to be underdeveloped, but it does provide crucial support for Ukraine's economy. Ukraine does have certain advantages, including much lower costs than other European destinations, as well as visa-free access for most people from Europe, the former Soviet Union, and North America. Since 2005 citizens of European Union and EFTA, United States, Canada, Japan and South Korea no longer require a visa to visit Ukraine for tourism purposes. Also, no visa has been required for citizens of Russia, and other CIS countries.
CountryNumber
Moldova4.3 million
Belarus1.8 million
Russia1.5 million
Hungary1.3 million
Poland1.2 million
Romania0.8 million
Slovakia0.4 million
Israel0.2 million
Turkey0.2 million
Germany0.2 million

Popular tourist city destinations

[Central Ukraine]

Main cities
.

[Western Ukraine]

in Yalta

[Eastern Ukraine]

The Seven Wonders of Ukraine are the seven historical and cultural monuments of Ukraine, which were chosen in the Seven Wonders of Ukraine contest held in July 2007.
Winners of all Ukraine competition Seven natural wonders of Ukraine:
Lately many modern dental clinics with high quality dentistry equipment and high quality materials have been established in Ukraine. They provide patients with high quality dentistry services for prices much cheaper in comparison with Western and Russian clinics. Many tourists from United States, European Union and Russia arrive for dental services, providing a sort of dental tourism.
Other popular sorts of medical tourism in Ukraine are soas, eye and plastic surgery, and mud baths.
Truskavets and Myrhorod are well known for their mineral springs.

Events

Festival culture

In recent years a variety of festivals emerged in major Ukrainian cities. Among the most popular are international jazz festival in Lviv, street food festival in Kiev, various summer festivals in Odessa—a popular tourist destination in summer. Many of these festivals take place in former industrial buildings of the Soviet era and are thus helping to rejuvenate these areas.
TypeEventLocationSeasonNotes
Film festivalMolodist International Film FestivalKievApril
Film festivalOdesa International Film FestivalOdessaSecond half of July
Food festivalDeruny FestivalKorosten'September
Food festivalLviv Cheese and Wine FestivalL'vivOctober
Humor festivalGumorynaOdessaApril
Arts festivalGogolfestKievSeptember
Music festivalZakhidRodatychi, L'viv regionMiddle of August
Music festivalFajne MistoTernopil'July
Music festivalAlfa Jazz FestL'vivJune
Poetry festivalMeridian CzernowitzChernivtsiSeptember
Music festivalAtlas WeekendKievJune
Sports festivalHot Air Balloon FestivalKamianets-Podilskyi May
Cultural festivalForpost FestKamianets-Podilskyi August
Sports festivalLeopolis Grand PrixLvivJune
Cultural festivalBook Forum LvivLvivSeptember
Cultural festivalEtnovyrLvivAugust

Trade fairs

Governing body of tourist industry and its chairs

;Number of foreign citizens visiting Ukraine
Statistics are based on data from the State Statistics Agency of Ukraine.