Analysis of Religious Tourism in Ukraine: Challenges of Time and Prospects

The main objectives of tourism business management are to develop and implement new strategies for promoting the product in the tourism market with the help of new technologies, as well as improve the existing ones due to using the main management functions. The article aims to improve the religious tourism sector in the modern tourism market and draw attention to religious tourism management. Research methods include analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, forecasting, as well as the use of systemic, activity-oriented, historical and culturological approaches. The article offers some ways of solving the issues of religious tourism, taking into account the specifics of this sector. It also covers some problematic issues in religious tourism in the context of the main management functions. The article proves that the potential of religious tourism is unrealized in terms of management and marketing research on tourism. The crisis of the global tourism industry, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, has done significant harm to the entire tourism sector of Ukraine’s economy. But it opens a unique window of opportunities for Ukraine to become a world-famous religious destination. The WTTC drew attention to this, urging public and private sector leaders to work together to pave the way for the economic recovery, needed for the travel and tourist industry and create millions of jobs.


Introduction
Researchers of religious tourism claim that many pilgrims tend to prefer travelling in a group of like-minded people for the performance of rituals upon arrival at the desired place or preachings about a righteous life. Indeed, the spiritual power of pilgrimage to the Holy Places is generally recognized. At the same time, it is no less important that the participants in the pilgrimage should cultivate a special sense of community during it. Socio-spiritual guidelines of a certain faith are often engraved in the minds and behaviour of people outside of church institutions and religious denominations.
The transformation processes in the sphere of pilgrimage and religion tourism are considered in the scientific works.
Z. Bauman in the work of the «From Pilgrim to Tourist» considered transformational processes in the field of tourism, described the differences between the tourist, a tramp, a pilgrim and how it affects the formation of society [1]. George Tardge in the book «Pilgrimage» considered the motives for religious travel, their goals, the search for truth, considered religious routes, sacred places [2]. P. Koelo in the artistic novel «Diary of the magician or pilgrimage» described the path of St. James to Santiago de Compostela from the Acting of Apostles, passed Routes Spain and Portugal [3]. Among Ukrainian researchers it is necessary to pay attention to the work of V. Pazenok «Tourismology. The theoretical image of tourism», which describes the goals of religious tourism, characteristics of pilgrims, religious tourists, their differences and common features [4]. S. Panchenko in the monograph «Religious tourism in Ukraine: state, potential, perspectives» considered in detail religious tourism, its features in terms of different denominations, objects of pilgrimage, prospects for the development of this direction [5]. O. Borisova in the textbook «Specialized Types of tourism» highlights religious tourism in a separate species and considers its features in terms of interconfession, detailing attention to routes and sacred places of different denominations [6]. V. Gorskyi in the article «A trip as a phenomenon of culture» describes the value of a pilgrimage for a person, an industry of tourism, infrastructure, a spiritual value of a religious journey [7].
Z. Sapelkinа in the work «Religion and culture. Religious tourism» considers religious tourism in terms of management, marketing, analyzes the prospects for the development of this direction [8]. P. Yarotskyi in a scientific work «Philosophical aspect of pilgrimage (religious) tourism in Ukraine» examines the diplomatic solution between interconfessional problems and conflicts, laws and legal documents that regulate them internationally, since Ukraine is a multi-confessional state with the peculiarities of culture, religion, traditions [9]. The analysis of these works testifies to the problems of religious tourism and needs further study.
Management implies applying management concepts and tools, taking into account socio-economic, demographic and socio-cultural factors. It allows one to gain benefits and additional financial resources. The main objectives of tourism business management are to develop and implement new strategies for promoting the product in the tourism market with the help of new technologies, as well as improve the existing ones due to using the main management functions.
Management functions ref lect both the essence and content of management activities in the field of tourism. The main functions of tourism business management include planning, organization, regulation, motivation and control. Each function is important for the organization of tourism activities, in particular in the field of religious tourism [10].
Tourism business management also ensures the interaction between organization, planning, forecasting and financial activities, legal support, psychology of communication and customer services, sociology of labour and other aspects of tourism.
Tourism management principles can be divided into general and individual. General principles include systematicity (the system's interdependence on others; interconnections between all links of the system; consideration of the effects of internal and external factors on the system's functioning); integration; multifunctionality (taking into account all aspects of tourism activities that are not only those, associated with sales of tourism products); objectivity; values-based orientations. Individual principles involve scientific justification; an optimal correlation between centralization and decentralization when making management decisions; planning; motivation; observance of employees' rights and assurance of their responsibility [11].
Religious tourism management causes the need for cooperation with religious leaders, knowledge about cultural differences of the target audience, religious practices and spiritual components of pilgrimage or religious leisure activities. They are essential to preparing the general programme of the tour, producing souvenirs, providing nutrition or clothes and involving support staff [12].
Ukraine is rich in religious and pilgrimage sites, which attract many pilgrims. There are many significant religious objects in all regions. In the country, the largest pilgrimage centres are Kyiv (Saint Sophia's Cathedral, Kyiv Pechersk The report aims to improve the religious tourism sector in the modern tourism market and draw attention to religious tourism management.

Methods
The problem of religious tourism was investigated by synthesis and analysis of philosophical, religious, management literature. Also used were culturological, phenomenological, religious studies, which allow to look at the development of religious tourism from the point of view of history and forecasts for the future.
The research was carried out through the basics of scientific analysis using the principles of objectivity, systematicity, historical, comparative analysis, causation, axiological, logic-semantic, activity, comparative and prognostic approaches. The methodological basis of the article formed scientific works, which define the concepts, approaches and methods that serve as an instrument of studying religious tourism as a phenomenon of social life, characterizing the problems of self-affirmation of human by means of travel, implementation of religious travels [13].
The article uses elements of several scientific approaches: -systemic (the worldview of pilgrims is considered as a complex holistic system, ultimately consisting of simple elements and is due both objective and subjective factors); -phenomenological (everyday human being, his/her life; this approach makes it possible to consider the f low of consciousness in the aspect of the sense-forming constructs of the worldview system of the culture of pilgrims) -comparative (comparison of species of ideological orientations of a person of various religions in various socio-cultural systems as the principle of achieving objective knowledge) -socio-philosophical approach (makes it possible to present a pilgrimage as a specific social phenomenon, a noticeable factor in the development and improvement of society).

Results
In total, there are about 130 pilgrimage offices, services, companies and agencies in Ukraine. The geography of their proposed routes covers the entire territory of Ukraine and all countries of Europe and the Middle East. On average, one such service offers about 50 tours per year.
One cannot determine the number of domestic religious tourists. Considering the fact that all active believers go on trips only for religious purposes, their share in the total tourist f low ranges from 8.5 % to 20 %. At the same time, religious tourism accounts for from 160 to 360 thousand organized trips and excursions, of which 120-300 thousand were foreign and only 25-60 thousands were domestic.
It is important to note that the share of religious tourism in the total tourist f low in Ukraine hardly exceeds 8-10 %, most likely being even lower. It means that the level of religious tourism development in Ukraine is at least twice lower than the world average.
There are on average about 60-70 thousands foreign pilgrims in Ukraine and about the same number of religious and educational tourists from abroad. Two-thirds of them are Israelis, and no more than 15 % are Russian pilgrims (8-10 thousand) [14].
Religious worldview affects society ambiguously and, sometimes, contradictorily. Indeed, it can unite and oppose them, thus causing many wars and conf licts on religious grounds. It can contribute to developing good moral values, humane worldview, civic activism. However, it can reinforce intolerance, hatred of otherwise minded people and even general contempt for a person as such. It can result in fanaticism, misanthropy, antisocialism and religious extremism.
Thus, all these and other measures can facilitate the dynamic development of tourism in Ukraine with further prospects for developing international tourism in general and cognitive tourism in particular.
Compared to European countries, Ukraine does not use different types of tourism, which could ensure its economic growth and solve the existing problems in the protection of historical heritage [15].
In recent years, the number of Ukrainian tourists, making pilgrimages to the relics of their country, has increased significantly. But it is almost impossible to calculate the number of domestic travelers, because they do not use agencies and instead travel on their own or at the initiative of the clergy. International tourists, who come to Ukraine for religious purposes, are also not included in statistics. The approximate annual number of Hasidic pilgrims is from 30,000 to 40,000, distribution of incoming (international) tourists. Out of 83,703 tourists in 2019, 5,232 came for business reasons, 58,404 for recreation, 2,390 for health purposes, 194 athletes, 16,874 special tourism (not specified), and 422 for other purposes [16].

Discussion
Sacred places of Ukraine should be considered in terms of: 1) significant religious-and-historical places, objects, similar places; 2) denominational objects (Orthodox, Jewish, Catholic, Muslim, Hasidic, pagan); 3) descriptions of specific saints, religious and historical places by region (churches, convents or monasteries, Lavras, graves, hermitages, icons, places of residence of prominent figures of different denominations).
The main objectives of developing religious tourism in Ukraine are as follows: 1) to restore all ancient religious architectural sites; 2) to restore religious architecture, made of wood; 3) to restore ancient pictorial, written and sculptural cult objects, providing rooms for their publicity (to establish museums); 4) to restore palace complexes and arrange their territories; 5) to publish popular literature in foreign languages, which informs about the religious history of Ukraine, the development of individual religious and spiritual centres and their prominent figures, many of whom also lived in Western Europe, and all sacred places in the country; 6) to create a system of benefits for those tourist organizations, which promote religious tourism as part of their package of services; 7) to create a system of benefits for investors to attract investments in the restoration of historical monuments in Ukraine; 8) to prepare optimal routes for religious tourists, including to some other historic sites of Ukraine; 9) to establish affiliations of travel agencies abroad; to launch an advertising campaign; to publish brochures on religious tourism in Ukraine for foreign readers; to create and broadcast television programmes about prominent religious sites and figures; 10) to introduce a general register of important religious sites and sacred sites from a tourist's point of view; 11) to organize logistic systems and infrastructure in Ukraine to provide routes for religious tourists and pilgrims (transport, hotels, catering establishments, sightseeing tours, souvenirs) [17].
Also, it is essential to further develop cognitive tourism. It requires the following steps: 1) to create a base of tourist resources, which should include all historical and cultural monuments; 2) to develop long-term programmes and strategies for restoring cultural monuments; 3) to cultivate responsibility for preserving cultural monuments and a corresponding attitude towards the objects of cognitive tourism in tourists; 4) to organize scientific and thematic excursions to historical and cultural monuments for educational purposes; 5) to implement a consolidated policy to increase the role of cognitive tourism in society.

Conclusions
Tourism in Ukraine is a poorly developed sector of the economy, with religious tourism in its infancy. New challenges of the time and the pandemic Covid-19 are making their own adjustments and religious tourism is now in a difficult situation. Although, as scientists describe scientific intelligence, it is religious tourism during the pandemic has established itself as a sustainable type of tourism and survives due to the stability and faith of the faithful.
It lacks clear concept, content, or information sources. Therefore, in our point of view, it is worth launching a website that accumulates information on existing forms of religious tourism and pilgrimage, on routes and sacred sites, offered by travel agencies, tour operators and pilgrimage centers. This would provide people with relevant and comprehensive information, monitoring and analyzing the tourist services market [18].
Ukraine should be able to attract international and domestic tourists with its historical heritage. Besides, all monuments should be restored based on relevant programmes and laws and be able to provide, develop and preserve themselves due to tourist money. Moreover, one should always remember that it all starts with culture in general and an attitude towards cultural monuments in particular. It is vital to respect both the cognitive and cultural heritage of the country.
Given that everyone is constantly preoccupied with worries, life situations, various plans, successes and losses, they need, first of all, spiritual enrichment and, at the same time, some break time. They should always care about their body, soul and spiritual principles. When combined with physical work, spiritual work can create a new personality, realized in a spiritual sense.