Civil Unrest Leads to Travel Warning in Ukraine, Puts Tourism On Hold

PHOTO: The unrest in Ukraine has led the U.S. State Department to warn travelers to stay away for now. (photo courtesy RIA Novosti)

With the country on the verge of civil war, the embattled president of the Ukraine, Viktor Yanukovych, and the country’s Parliament reached an agreement to hold new elections. 

While there was hope that the compromise might stave off a calamity, the recent shootings (many by snipers) of demonstrators in Kiev has fired up the passions of extremists on the fringes of both sides of the divide, making the possibility of a real truce tenuous at best.

The escalation of violence compelled the U.S. State Department to change a newly posted Travel Alert, issued only on Tuesday to a full-fledged Travel Warning by Thursday that urges U.S. citizens to avoid all “non-essential travel” to the Ukraine.

The State Department is especially cautioning travelers about Kiev. The department is evacuating the families of embassy personnel. The department points out that “since February 18, there has been a sharp escalation in violence between protestors and police, resulting in multiple deaths and hundreds of injuries. The Ukrainian Security Services announced that they may use ‘extraordinary measures’ to remove protestors from occupied areas.”

It also cites the random violence of “groups of young men, popularly called titushky, (that) have attacked journalists and protestors.”

Furthermore, transit within the city has coagulated as the metro has been closed down and inter-city rail service has been halted. Several roads have roadblocks though commercial flights (at press time) are operating to and from Ukraine. 

LOT Polish Airlines, which operates flights to Kiev and Lviv, is allowing passengers traveling to Kiev and Lviv before Feb. 28 to change their reservations. Passengers can change their flight dates throughout 2014 with no penalties or change fees. If a passenger changes their routing, the rerouting fee will be waived, however, they will be responsible for any change in the base fare.

The protests began last November with the government’s announcement to eschew European Union membership, signaling closer relations with Moscow. As in many countries of the former Soviet Union, the populace is deeply divided over what the relationship should be with Moscow moving forward. Pro-Europe protestors took to the streets and the police have reacted most forcefully.

Things had been looking up for tourism in the Ukraine. According to tourism officials in the country, the last three years had seen an increase in foreign visitors by more than 1.1 million with the annual visitation now at 24 million.

A successful co-hosting with Poland of the 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, which brought many more foreign tourists to the country, had stimulated investment in winter tourism infrastructure and even a bid for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

The Ukraine government had engaged with Austria’s Doppelmayr Seibahnen GmbH, a manufacturer of winter sports infrastructure equipment, to help develop tourism infrastructure in Lviv and the Trans Carpathian regions.

Beyond sports tourism, Ukraine has an incredibly rich cultural history with seven different UNESCO World Heritage sites. Such Ukrainian ports as Yalta, Odessa have seen an increase of cruise calls.