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Russian forces had planned to cross the bridge in their attempts to seize the Ukrainian capital Kyiv at the beginning of the war. The Russian army has since retreated hundreds of kilometres away, but launches near-daily missile and drone strikes on the Ukrainian capital that Blasco Ventas chose as his vacation spot.
“It’s my first time in a war zone,” the 23-year-old software engineer said. “I’m a little bit scared, I’m not going to lie, because you never know.” He was on a “dark tourism” tour offered by one of a dozen or so Ukrainian companies specialising in a marginal but growing sector – allowing tourists to visit locations of tragic events.
Before the war, Ukraine already hosted tens of thousands of tourists every year in Chernobyl, which saw the world’s worst nuclear disaster in 1986.
War Tours, which organised his visit, said it has accommodated around 30 customers since January, mainly Europeans and Americans paying between 150 euros ($157) and 250 euros ($262) for the whole tour. Part of the profits are given to the army, said company co-founder Dmytro Nykyforov who insisted the initiative was “not about money, it’s about memorialization of the war.”
The visits generally centre around Kyiv and its suburbs that saw alleged massacres from Russian troops in the early 2022. But some companies come closer to the front – including a visit of several days in southern Ukraine costing up to 3,300 euros.
But Mykhailyna Skoryk-Shkarivska, local councillor in Irpin and former deputy mayor of Bucha, said most residents are fine with “dark tourism” but some consider the profits from it as “blood money”. “There are accusations – ‘Why do you come here? Why do you want to see our grief?’,” she said, recalling conversations with locals.
Mariana Oleskiv, head of the National Agency for Tourism Development, said the development of war tourism posed many ethical questions but that the market was bound to grow.
Ukraine even recorded 4 million foreign visitors last year, according to Oleskiv. The number is twice as high as it was in 2022, but comprises mainly business travellers. Ukraine is already preparing for the post-war period, including by signing deals with Airbnb and TripAdvisor.
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Although I doubt it, given that we are talking about people stupid enough to travel to a warzone for a vacation, I hope at least some will help the people there. Don’t just go and watch them suffer, Ukraine is not a zoo.
I would love to go to Kyiv. Your chances of being involved in a serious incident after very very low and it’s going to be absolutely thronged with tourists after the war.
I hear the nightlife is great, food is great and the people lovely.
Edit: I could not really do the whole war tourism thing in the article though. Bucha I think would permanently scar me.
Edit 2: Odessa looks beautiful too
please come visit Kyiv. even during the war you may feel safer here than in most of places in the world except northern Europe. there’s no chance you will be robbed, harassed, or even insulted here. there’s no opression by race and beliefs, and never were. the casualties due to the air raid attacks are statistically lower than traffic incident ones. yes, the conveniences may be worse in some things due to the corrupted city governer, but this is compensated by the conveniences on the country level. as a Kyiv citizen that travelled the world I will never leave Kyiv for good. too much good things that will take decades for the rest of the world to implement.
Well that’s a fine recommendation. Thanks. I’m not getting to travel much at the moment to be honest as I have one metric heap of kids but I hear you on the safety thing. People used to ask me if I felt safe in Dublin during the troubles in northern Ireland so I get that differentiation that even a small distance makes.
Edit: What’s the best way to get there? Flight to Poland then a train?
yes, a flight to Poland, and a night train. a not very long and quite easy travel route. but they promised to open up an airport in the western Ukraine. this only depends on the additional dedicated anti-air defenses, which are not in abundance as of now.
Well, if it helps the economy?
It might spread awareness too I guess.
You know, this sounds liks something good old American capitalism could dab into. Obviously there is no war in the US (yet). But I see potential there.
Visit the Californian Homeless-Camps. Have a tour around a Texas school where kids have no idea evolution exists and think Noas Ark was real. While you are there, visit an Emergency rooma parking lot: you might be lucks and see a pregnant teenager die in her car. Then go to West Verginia and play a fun game of “spot the Junky”. Bath in the misery of black people working three jobs to live from their hand into their mouth all around the country. Be a shocked but o so entertained bystander while they are beaten up, or, if you are lucky, even shot by a police officer on their way home.
