Tourism Vacation destination Ukraine: war tourists on the trail of destruction

So-called war tourists travel to Ukraine to see the destruction of the Russian war of aggression with their own eyes. Tours to war zones such as Irpin or Kharkiv, which are sometimes referred to as "black tourism", raise ethical questions.

"I'm a bit scared," says Alberto Blasco Ventas in view of the Russian missiles that attack Kiev almost daily. "It's my first time in a war zone." The 23-year-old Spaniard has undertaken an arduous journey to experience the war at first hand. And Blasco Ventas is by no means the only war tourist in Ukraine - more and more foreigners want to see the destruction with their own eyes.

The Spaniard looks at the broken bridge in Irpin, a suburb of Kiev. The Ukrainians blew up the bridge at the beginning of the war in 2022 to stop the advance of Russian troops on the capital. Today, Irpin is one of the most important sights for war tourists.

This niche in the travel industry is known as "black tourism", and around a dozen Ukrainian companies offer tours like the one to Irpin. Blasco Ventas has booked with War Tours. According to the agency, it has accompanied around 30 customers this year, mainly from Europe and the USA.

Part of the profits go to the army

The tours mostly focus on Kiev and its suburbs, where the Russian soldiers allegedly carried out massacres of civilians, and cost between 150 euros and 250 euros.

Part of the profits go to the army, says the company's co-founder, Dmytro Nykyforov. However, the tours are "not about money, but about remembering the war". The visits have an educational value above all, assures Svitosar Moiseiv, manager of the tourism company Capital Tours Kiev. "They are like a vaccine to prevent something like this from ever happening again."

Blasco Ventas films every step of his journey. He publishes the videos on his YouTube channel, which is followed by 115,000 people. The software engineer has also documented other unusual vacation destinations there - the "most horrible psychiatric hospital" in the USA and the "most dangerous border" in the world between China, Russia and North Korea.

His family was concerned that his son would now also be traveling to Ukraine. Nevertheless, Blasco Ventas boarded the plane to Moldova. The journey continued by train in 18 hours to Kiev. Although the capital is repeatedly under fire, the front line is several hundred kilometers away.

Almost to the battle zone for thousands of euros

Some travel agencies take their customers almost to the battle zone for thousands of euros. Nick Tan from the USA took the plunge: In July, he flew to Kharkiv. The second largest city in Ukraine is 20 kilometers from the front and is constantly being bombed.

"I just wanted to see it because I think our life in the West is too comfortable and easy," says the 34-year-old, who works for a New York technology company. He actually wanted to get closer to the battle line, but his guide wouldn't let him.

Tan is a thrill seeker. He used to find it in skydiving, boxing and at raves. "Jumping out of airplanes, partying all night and punching people in the face, that's not for me anymore. So what's the next best thing? Going to a war zone," he says.

For people in destroyed Irpin, who still live in constant danger, this attitude seems strange. "A Shahed drone recently crashed 300 meters from my house. I wouldn't feel the need to experience something like that," says 52-year-old Ruslan Savchuk. "But if people want that, it's their right."

Ethical questions about war tourism

Most residents are in agreement with black tourism, says Mychailyna Skoryk-Schkariwska, a local councillor in Irpin. But there are also accusations. "'Why are you coming here? Why do you want to see our grief?", some people asked the tourists. Mariana Oleskiw, head of the National Agency for Tourism Development, also recognizes the ethical issues of war tourism. The agency is therefore preparing special training courses for tour guides.

Even before the war, tens of thousands of disaster tourists traveled to Ukraine every year to visit Chernobyl, where the world's worst nuclear accident occurred in 1986. Since the start of the Russian war of aggression in February 2022, tourism in Ukraine has largely collapsed. Now mainly business travelers come from abroad.

However, the Ukrainian tourism industry is already preparing for the time after the war, for example with contracts with the travel portals Airbnb and TripAdvisor. Oleskiw is confident: "The war has drawn attention to Ukraine, now at least everyone knows about our country."

SDA