Translated material
In Ukraine they sell tours to the war zone for three thousand euros
Ukrainian travel companies offer foreigners for a symbolic sum to visit Kyiv and see in real life the destruction from the war with Russia. Some tourists book special and more expensive tours to the war zone. The Straits Times writes about this.
The War Tours company offers its clients to visit Kyiv and the Kyiv region with a guide. For example, clients can book a one-day tour to Kyiv for 150 euros per person. If a tourist wants to go to Irpen or Bucha, it will cost 250 euros for one day. A company representative reported that since January she has escorted about 30 clients throughout Ukraine. These are mainly tourists from Europe and the USA.
Part of the profits from the tours is transferred to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, said War Tours co-founder Dmitry Nikiforov. He noted that his organization does not work for money, but for the sake of “preserving the memory of the war.” Svitozar Moiseev, manager of the travel company Capital Tours Kyiv, noted that the profit from military tours is negligible, but the educational value of the trip is much more important than the money: “This is a kind of vaccine that will not allow this [war] to happen again,” he said.
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Mostly tours are organized in Kyiv and its suburbs, but some companies offer to visit the south of Ukraine, where the fighting is taking place. Such tours are designed for several days and will cost about 3,300 euros per person.
34-year-old American financier Nick Tan went to Kharkov as part of a similar tour. He explained his decision to visit Ukraine by saying that “life in the West is too comfortable and easy.” According to him, he wanted to come even closer, directly to the line of combat contact, but his guide did not allow him to take that risk.
The head of the State Agency for Tourism Development, Maryana Oleskiv, admits that military tourism raises a number of ethical questions, but they do not prevent the market from growing. However, some residents of Irpen consider profits from this type of tourism to be “blood money.”
The Russian invasion caused the collapse of the tourism industry, but Ukraine is still open to tourists: for example, about four million foreigners entered the country in 2023. Before the start of the war with Russia, Ukraine actively welcomed tourists to Chernobyl. The ghost town gained even more popularity in 2019 after the release of the mini-series “Chernobyl” on HBO.
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