Main content and commiments of Ukraine
According to the Chapter 16, Title V of the EU–Ukraine Association Agreement, the tourism cooperation is provided in order to increase the competitiveness of the tourism industry.
Tourism cooperation based on three main principles:
- respect of the originality and interests of local communities, especially in rural areas;
- the importance of cultural heritage;
- strict interaction between tourism and environmental protection.
Tourism cooperation aims at the following directions:
- information and best practices exchange, etc;
- strategic partnership between state, private and public interests in order to provide sustainable development of the tourism;
- promotion and development of tourist products and markets, infrastructure, human resources and institutional structures;
- development and implementation of effective policies and strategies, including relevant legal, administrative and financial aspects;
- training for tourism specialists, increasing capacity in the field of tourism in order to improve the quality of standards for tourist services;
- development and promotion of tourism based on local communities.
Association bodies
Cluster 2 of the Subcommittee on Economic and other Sector Cooperation
Responsible bodies in Ukraine
The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine.
The state of adaptation of Ukrainian legislation and cooperation with the EU
In 2017 The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted the Strategy for the Development of Tourism and Resorts until 2026.
For the following development of the sphere the comprehensive changes to the Law of Ukraine "On Tourism" are drafted. The draft Law of Ukraine on the amendments to the Law of Ukraine "On Tourism" is currently under consideration in the Verkhovna Rada.
The amendments provide:
- improvement and refinement of the terminological and conceptual apparatus in the tourism in accordance with the conventional international definitions, in particular considering the classification of The UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO);
- definition of exist types of tourism depending on the directions of the tourist flows, the way of organizing the tour, the categories of persons who carry out tourist trips, their age, sources of travel financing, goals, methods of travel and other features;
- introduction of obligatory insurance of civil liability of tour operators and travel agents in order to protect the rights and legitimate interests of consumers;
- regulation of the general principles of work of self-regulatory organizations in the field of tourism;
- establishment of a mechanism for the creation and supplying of state and local tourism development funds;
- regulation of the work of tourist support specialists in Ukraine by creating a Register of Tourist Support Specialists;
- determination of the procedure for establishing the categories of tourist infrastructure objects on the declarative principle and powers of The Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine in this sphere;
- definition of legal basis of statistical accounting in the field of tourism and powers of the involved authorities.
The new version of the Law will implement the provisions of the Directive 90/314/EEC of 13 June 1990 on package tourist travel, package holidays and package tours, provides obligatory insurance of civil liability of tour operators regarding the reimbursement of expenses for the return of tourists to the place of permanent residence.
Since June 1, 2017, three national standards came into force in the sphere of tourism, harmonized with the international and European rules, namely:
ISO 17679:2016 Tourism and related services – Wellness spa – Service requirements
ISO 17049:2013 Accessible design - Application of braille on signage, equipment and appliances
ISO 23599:2012 Assistive products for blind and vision-impaired persons — Tactile walking surface indicators