Conflict sites in Ukraine attract tourists

The Irpin Bridge in Ukraine was blown up to stop Russian troops from advancing in 2022. It is now a popular destination for adventurous tourists visiting the country.

Spanish tourist Alberto Blasco Ventas visits a destroyed building in the Irpin suburb, near Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo: AFP)

Russian troops attempted to cross the Irpin Bridge in an attempt to advance on the Ukrainian capital Kiev early in the war. Russia has since retreated hundreds of miles but continues to launch near-daily missile and drone attacks on Kiev, where Spanish tourist Alberto Blasco Ventas was visiting.

"It was my first time in a war zone," Ventas said. "I was actually a little scared. You never know what's going to happen."

Ventas took a “dark” tour offered by one of about a dozen companies in Ukraine that allow tourists to visit sites where events occurred during the nearly three-year conflict with Russia.

A Ukrainian tour guide shows Blasco Ventas the Irpin Bridge destroyed during the Russia-Ukraine conflict. (Photo: AFP)

To get to Ukraine, Ventas ignored his family's concerns and took a flight to Moldova, followed by an 18-hour train journey to Kiev.

The 23-year-old software engineer is aiming to become a social media celebrity. He is filming every step of the trip and plans to post it to his YouTube channel, which has 115,000 subscribers. He has previously posted videos documenting his experiences at the “most terrifying mental hospital” in the United States and the “most dangerous border” in the world, between China, Russia and North Korea.

Responding to criticism that such trips are gruesome or unethical, Blasco Ventas insisted he undertakes the trip "with respect".

Blasco Ventas at a car cemetery in Irpin, where destroyed civilian vehicles are piled up. (Photo: AFP)

War Tours, the company that organized the trip, said it had served about 30 clients since January this year, mainly Europeans and Americans, at a cost of 150 to 250 euros (4 to 6.6 million VND) per tour.

Part of the profits are donated to the military, said Dmytro Nykyforov, the company's co-founder, stressing that the initiative is "not about money, but about remembering the war".

The profits are insignificant, but the tours have propaganda value, said Svitozar Moiseiv, director of the Capital Tours Kiev travel agency.

“It's like a vaccine to prevent the same thing from happening again,” he said.

Local residents confused

Tours are typically focused around the capital Kiev and its suburbs, but some companies take visitors closer to the front lines, including multi-day trips to southern Ukraine that cost up to €3,300 ($4,400).

Blasco Ventas captured images of the wreckage of a tank near the village of Dmytrivka, Ukraine. (Photo: AFP)

Nick Tan, a tech worker in New York, was one of those travelers who wanted to go further. So he headed to Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, which has been the target of frequent Russian airstrikes, in July. Kharkiv is about 20 kilometers from the Russian border.

"I just wanted to see for myself what was happening in the war zone, because I thought our life in the West was too comfortable and easy," the 34-year-old man shared.

Nick Tan is a self-proclaimed thrill seeker who says he has gone skydiving, regularly attends boxing classes and parties all night.

"Jumping out of planes, partying all night and punching people in the face doesn't excite me anymore. So what's next? Going into a war zone," Nick said, adding that he asked to get closer to the front lines, but the guide refused.

Destroyed residential building in Borodyanka, near Kiev, Ukraine. (Photo: AFP)

Nick Tan's journey left some residents of the war-scarred suburb of Irpin puzzled.

“A Shahed drone recently crashed 300 meters from my house. I just hope I don’t have to witness such things,” said Ruslan Savchuk, 52, a resident of Irpin.

“But if they want to experience it, that’s their right,” he added. Savchuk is a volunteer tourism development strategy advisor for the Irpin region. He said tourists can generate useful income for local communities.

Economics and ethics

Mykhailyna Skoryk-Shkarivska, a local councillor in Irpin and former deputy mayor of the nearby city of Bucha, said that while most residents accept “dark tourism”, some see the profits from such programmes as “blood money”.

“There was criticism – ‘Why did you come here? Why do you want to see our pain?’” said Skoryk-Shkarivska, recalling conversations with locals.

Remnants of Russia's invasion are becoming a tourist attraction in Ukraine. (Photo: AFP)

The development of war tourism raises many ethical questions, but the market is sure to grow, said Mariana Oleskiv, head of the National Tourism Development Agency of Ukraine.

The conflict with Russia has caused Ukraine's tourism industry to collapse, but the industry's revenue this year is expected to surpass that of 2021 - a time when Ukraine was heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ukraine is reportedly starting to prepare for the post-war period, including signing cooperation agreements with travel companies such as Airbnb and US-based TripAdvisor.

“The war drew attention to Ukraine. Now everyone knows about our country,” said Ms. Oleskiv.

Hua Yu (Source: SCMP)

Source: https://vtcnews.vn/dia-diem-xung-dot-o-ukraine-thu-hut-khach-du-lich-ar910936.html