INFLUENCE OF INBOUND TOURIST FLOW ON THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HOSPITALITY SERVICE IN UKRAINE

Abstract

The hospitality industry, as an integral and important component of tourism, is gaining increasing socio-economic importance. It is a key component of the tourist product, as the level of service in the hospitality industry is one of the key factors for travelers' satisfaction. The purpose of the article is to identify current trends and the impact of inbound tourist flows on the development of the hospitality industry in Ukraine. The methods of content analysis, statistical and logical analysis have been used in the research process. Reduced flows of foreign nationals entering Ukraine in 2010-2017 have been identified. Only 38 000 people, or 0.27% of the number of foreign nationals who came to Ukraine in 2017, visited Ukraine for tourism, which is 96.4% less than in 2010. As a result, foreigners' demand for the hospitality services, which are mostly used by domestic consumers, is falling. In Ukraine, the outbound tourism is much higher than inbound, both in terms of number of travelers and in terms of cost. It is proved that the objective reasons for the decrease in inbound flows are the unfavorable security image of the country, as well as the low level of tourist competitiveness of Ukraine, accordingly, the domestic hotel industry is poorly realizing its potential. In such a situation, threats to the functioning and development of domains of the hospitality industry are increasing. The choice of accommodation for a temporary stay while in a foreign country depends to some extent on the purpose of the trip. For each category of visitors the different requirements, needs, expectations for the service product of the hotel are set. The necessity of their research and consideration during the transition to the management of hotel activity on the principle of client-orientation is shown. To this end, the search for adequate methods of market segmentation and differentiation of the hotel service product depending on the characteristics of the target audience is actualized. It is revealed that the most difficult problem of domestic hotels is the non-conformity of the level of service to the world standards, which is in some way due to the outdated material facilities and low staff qualification. The necessity of application of world experience and practice of service management, which will increase the attractiveness of hotels for guests, is indicated. It is suggested to manage the service in the hospitality industry on the principles of the consumer value chain and to use the service product circle of the hospitality industry for this purpose. The composition of the service product includes such components as material and technical facilities, staff, process, principles and rules of hospitality. The proposed approach combines quality of service standards with the expectations and impressions of the hotel customer.