Kyiv, Lviv, and Khmelnytskyi regions became leaders in revenue, while Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi regions emerged as new tourist attractions. In contrast, frontline regions like Mykolaiv and Kharkiv lost a significant portion of their pre-war revenues.
Ukrainian businesses paid 359 million hryvnias in tourist tax to local budgets in 2025. This was reported by UNN with reference to information from Opendatabot.
Details
Compared to 2024, revenues increased by a third and exceeded the 2021 figure by one and a half times, when there was no full-scale war yet.
In other words, tourism in Ukraine not only survived but also began to generate significant income for communities again.
Who pays: large chains versus small businesses
Of the total amount of UAH 359 million, about UAH 200 million was provided by companies, and another UAH 159 million by individual entrepreneurs. At first glance, it seems that large players have an advantage. But the structure of revenues by region shows a different picture.
In most regions, it is small businesses that are the engine of the market: small hotels, green tourism estates, apart-hotels, hostels, family recreation complexes. They are the ones who massively pay the tourist tax and thus form the main part of local budget revenues from tourism.
Large chain hotels and companies dominate in only 7 regions. In the rest of the regions, small businesses carry the market on their shoulders, and this is an important signal for local authorities. Support for entrepreneurs, simplification of procedures, transparent rules of the game, and investment in infrastructure directly convert into increased tourism revenues.
Collection leaders: Kyiv, Lviv region, Khmelnytskyi region
Kyiv remains the absolute leader in terms of the amount of tourist tax paid. The capital provided one-fifth of all revenues in the country – UAH 70.6 million. Business tourism, a large number of events, business trips, domestic and foreign guests create a stable flow of visitors who use the city's tourist infrastructure.
Immediately after Kyiv comes Lviv region with UAH 63.1 million in tourist tax. Lviv region traditionally remains one of the main cultural and tourist centers of the country: historical cities, festivals, gastronomic tourism, the development of the Carpathian region – all this stimulates demand.
Khmelnytskyi region took third place with an indicator of UAH 46.1 million. This is the result of both the reorientation of internal flows and the development of local destinations: from business tourism to recreation in small towns and villages.
New magnets: Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi regions
Compared to the pre-war period, Ivano-Frankivsk and Chernivtsi regions have become a real magnet for tourists. Both regions showed an increase in tourist tax of more than 4 times compared to 2021.
For Ivano-Frankivsk region, this includes the development of the Carpathians as a safer destination for recreation, active tourism, mountain locations, sanatoriums, and private estates. For Chernivtsi region – the effect of relative safety, proximity to the border, demand for longer stays, and the relocation of some businesses and people from more dangerous regions.
A more than fourfold increase means not only a larger number of visitors but also a structural change: regions that were previously perceived as additional options have become full-fledged tourist destinations where tourists' money has begun to actively work for the local economy.
Uneven map: who loses due to the war
Despite the overall growth, the situation in the country remains very uneven. In Mykolaiv region, tourist tax revenues fell by 75% compared to the pre-war level, and in Kharkiv region – by 59%. This is a direct consequence of proximity to the front line, regular shelling, destroyed infrastructure, and high risks for travelers.
In fact, these regions have temporarily fallen off the country's tourist map. Businesses there have either stopped or are operating at minimal capacity, focusing primarily on the basic needs of the population, not on attracting guests. For them, the issue of restoring the tourism industry will be relevant only after the security situation improves.
Security shapes a new geography of travel
Travelers are increasingly choosing regions far from the front line, and money follows them. Western and some central regions are becoming new centers of attraction for tourists, relocated businesses, events, and long-term stays.
This forms a new geography of tourism in Ukraine: instead of the classic seaside or resort season in the south, the role of the Carpathians, Podillia, Prykarpattia, and individual cities in the central part of the country is growing.
If the trend of increasing tourist tax continues, tourism can become one of the important drivers of post-war recovery through additional tax revenues, job creation, small business development, and infrastructure in regions far from the theater of hostilities.
Tourism tax revenues in Ukraine increased by 35% in three quarters of 2025 – Ministry of Development18.12.25, 15:33 • 3106 views
