A Methodical Approach to Assessing the Management Level of the Tourism and Recreational Potential in the Kharkiv Region

The article develops a methodical approach to assessing the management level of the tourism and recreational potential in the Kharkiv region, taking into account its existing business capabilities. It is noted that tourist resources in Ukraine influence greatly both the regional and national economy development. That is, determining the management level of the tourism and recreational potential in Ukraine’s regions is one of the main current tasks, as it is necessary to identify the existing reserves and organizational shortcomings in the tourism and recreation management. It is noted that the Kharkiv region has always had a strong economic, scientific, technological and production potential. At the same time, unfortunately, little attention has been paid to the development of tourism and recreational activities, despite the fact that the Kharkiv region is definitely among the top five by the quantitative performance indices for tourism entities of varied ownership. The article informs that the analysis of tourist flows shows an increase in the number of Ukrainian citizens turning to the tourism services employees, in general, and in the Kharkiv region, in particular. To assess the uptake of the existing tourism and recreational potential, the article suggests to introduce the following indicators of the tourism services level: the coverage of the Kharkiv region population by domestic tourism services; the coverage of the Kharkiv region population by outbound tourism services; territorial accessibility by average estimated distance; territorial accessibility by the object area; assortment availability; the service provision of the population; the growth dynamics of the service provision of the population (compared to the previous year). The assessment carried out has revealed some drawbacks in managing the tourism and recreational potential in the Kharkiv region. The author of the article has come to conclusion that no real level of investment exists, which could hinder the development of tourism in the Kharkiv region. A study by the World Tourism and Travel Council (WTTC) shows that every million dollars invested in the tourism industry provides the highest return in terms of jobs and subsequent contributions to GDP, if compared to other sectors of economy, no matter the country.