Sawt Falasteen - Ukraine sees influx of Western war tourists

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.

To get to Ukraine, he shrugged off concerns expressed by his family and got on a flight to Moldova, followed by an 18-hour train ride.

The wannabe influencer filmed every step of the trip, which he planned to post on his YouTube channel -- followed by 115,000 people -- where he has already chronicled the "most horrible psychiatric hospital" in the United States and "the most dangerous border" in the world, between China, Russia and North Korea.

- 'Like a vaccine' -

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.

Answering critics that would consider such trips morbid or immoral, Blasco Ventas insisted he was acting "with respect".

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."

Svitozar Moiseiv, the manager of tourism company Capital Tours Kyiv, said profits are negligible but the visits have an educational value.

"It's like a vaccine to prevent this from ever happening again," he said.

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.

- 'The next best thing' -

American Nick Tan, who works in finance for a New York tech company, was among those who wanted to go even further than Kyiv.

So he went in July to Kharkiv, Ukraine's second largest city that faces constant bombing from Russian forces, located around 20 kilometres away.

"I just wanted to see it because I think our lives in the West are just too comfortable and too easy," the 34-year-old said.

He said he wanted to get even closer to the front but was met with his guide's refusal.

The self-described thrill-seeker said he had already gone skydiving, regularly attended boxing classes and raves.

"Jumping out of planes and partying all night and punching people in the face just didn't do it for me anymore. So what's the next best thing? Going to a war zone."

His quest baffled some residents of the scarred Irpin suburb, who live under the constant threat of Russian air attacks.

"A Shahed drone recently fell 300 metres away from my house. I wouldn't have any desire to live through this kind of experience," said Ruslan Savchuk, 52.

"But if people want that for themselves, it's their right," he said.

Savchuk advises Irpin on its tourism strategy as a volunteer.

"Even a subject as difficult as war can lead to something good," he said, adding that tourists could generate useful incomes for local communities.

- 'See our grief' -

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.

Her agency was preparing specific training for guides, as well as memorial tours in the Kyiv region.

The Russian invasion triggered an immediate collapse of the tourism industry, but the sector's revenues should this year exceed those of 2021 -- a year marked by the coronavirus pandemic.

That growth mainly comes from domestic tourism fuelled by Ukrainian men of fighting age who are generally not allowed to leave the country due to martial law.

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.

"War brought attention to Ukraine, so we have stronger brand. Everybody knows about our country," Oleskiv said.

U.Shaheen--SF-PST