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A Project funded by the U.S. Department of State, Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Tourism has long been recognized as an important part of the economy as well as an avenue for opening countries to the West. In contrast to most of Central and Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union had a less developed tourism industry but one which had the potential to be developed as a tool for economic and community development after 1991. The region's historical sites were left to decay, the infrastructure was poorly developed, and the tourist industry was left in the hands of Soviet-era tourist agencies. As a result, the region's historical, cultural, and environmental diversity and heritage remained largely unseen and unvisited. Many community activists believe this situation should change and that tourism should be used to promote Ukraine's heritage, history and physical beauty as a means both of sustainable economic and community development that would serve to preserve these unique aspects of the region. The Tourism and Community Development
in Ukraine
Project was developed by the Institute for Democracy in Eastern
Europe
to foster private-public cooperation, drawing on its previous
experience
with citizen forums and goal-oriented cooperation. Through the creation
of "citizen tourism committees," the project aimed to include the
community
in the promotion of tourism in the areas of Crimea and Western Ukraine,
both of which have high potential for successful industries. The ethnic
heritage of the Crimean Tatars, who had returned to the region
after
being exiled during the Soviet period, was a potential basis for
successful
cultural tourism initiatives in Crimea.
IDEE's partner organizations, the Lion
Society
in Lviv and the Makhuldyur Association in Simferopol, provided
on
the ground coordination, while IDEE planned and implemented the overall
project. The Lion Society supports democratic initiatives in the
region,
and promotes historical, regional, cultural and ecological studies in
Ukraine,
and especially in the Lviv region. The Makhuldyur Association supports
the study, preservation and promotion of the cultural heritage of
national
minorities and natural sites in Ukraine.
The program began with a November 2002
study tour
in the United States for six participants. Participants came from the
cities
of Mykolaiv, Nadvirna, Lviv, Bakchisaray, Simferopol and Evpatoria,
all experienced civic activists engaged in tourism development,which
included
the vice speaker of the Crimean Parliament. Participants exchanged
information
and best practices with counterparts in several U.S. towns and cities,
including Annapolis, Maryland; Harpers Ferry, West Virginia; as well as
Williamsburg, Alexandria, and Charlottesville, Virginia. Upon their
return,
the six partipants assessed their own local tourism industries and
suggested
ways of improvement based on their observations of U.S. counterpart
organizations.
The participants then created
"citizen tourism
committees" in their respective regions. Each committee published a
tourism
brochure and built a website promoting its city or region. Members of
U.S.
and Central European counterpart organizations traveled to Ukraine to
conduct
training workshops to assist participants in assessing and developing
viable
tourism initiatives for these local groups in Crimea and Western
Ukraine.
Following the second study tour in
September 2003,
regional seminars were held in each of the regions to focus on
marketing
efforts and preparing materials for domestic and international
promotion
of tourism in their regions.
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