The new calendar will leave Transcarpathia without crowds of tourists

Under the new draft law on state holidays calendar for Ukrainians, there will be no May holidays in it, and, consequently, no prolonged weekend, during which Transcarpathia traditionally used to be visited by thousands of tourists. In this regard, we asked experts in the industry – will the new calendar hurt Transcarpathian tourism and pockets of the Transcarpathians who make money on it? 

Oleksandr Koval "It will affect public sector workers – but they are not very active tourists due to lack of money"

– I support this decision. Given that we are a nation that do not work enough, we should focus more on work, – Oleksandr Koval, expert on tourism, director of the tourism platform Tourinform Transcarpathia says. – Also we must consider whom the innovation will affect – and it will affect public sector employees.   So there will not be many negative consequences of the abolition of May holidays.

But, talking about a negative impact on Transcarpathian tourism, we must admit that indeed we will lose some tourists. But this affects only one industry of the economy – so it must not hamper this initiative.

Fedir Shandor "It will take away no more than 5% of "May" tourists"

– Well, firstly, the calendar is not yet adopted, and secondly, we must remember that there are still enough former members of the Communist Party in this Parliament, and they will try to block this decision – the star of Transcarpathian Tourism Fedir Shandor. says – And even if the calendar and its innovations are adopted, it will not affect significantly the flow of tourists in May. Let me explain why. First, there are still week-ends, and people will be coming to us on Friday, Saturday and Sunday – even without banking holidays.  Second, Transcarpathia has a favourable location in Ukraine without the Crimea – at this time, there is no such spring elsewhere, and people will still be coming here for this spring. And third, this season, devaluation of the hryvnia also helps Transcarpathian region: if the dollar stays at the same level, Ukrainians will not be able to afford vacation abroad, so they will be coming here. Yes, abolition of the May holidays will have some impact – but I predict that it will take away 5% of the total flow. It is not such a big figure to shout "all is lost". Therefore, even with new calendar, there will be a lot of tourists in Transcarpathia in May – you will see! 

Olena Kudrya: "There will be no crowds – it’s better for us and for tourists"

– If the innovation is adopted, it is clear that the number of tourists will decrease. Yes, Transcarpathian tourism business will lose money. But is it so bad? Let’s look at it from another angle – known Transcarpathian guide, director of the tourinfocenter Olena Kudrya says. – The first advantage is that there will be no crowds. Every guide knows it – it is impossible to work efficiently with "crowds": queues, noise, shouting everywhere – how can you stay positive under such circumstances? And here is another plus for tourists: in peak season prices always rise. If there is no peak, there will be no overpricing. And this is good.

And another advantage of the lack of crowds: if there are no peaks in attendance, there will be a consistent flow throughout the year. This will allow to provide much better and, again, cheaper services to tourists. So I am for consistent, planned flow of tourists to Transcarpathian region throughout the year.