Black Sea security: will there be a tourist season in Odesa?

The summer tourist season on the Odesa coast may be marked by increased danger. There are still Russian naval mines and other explosive devices in the Black Sea, which are sometimes carried closer to the shore or even onto the beach by storms.

This was stated by Dmytro Pletenchuk, spokesman for the Ukrainian Navy, on the air of the Morning.LIVE program.

According to him, the greatest danger is in the periods after storms. Waves can throw various objects, including explosives, onto the coast.

"After any storm, you have to be very careful when going to the beach," Pletenchuk explained.

The Navy emphasizes that Russian troops had previously laid a large number of mines in the sea, so the work to clean up the area is ongoing. At the same time, they have already managed to create safe routes for civilian shipping at sea.

Experts urge residents and tourists not to go to closed beaches and report suspicious objects near the water, especially after storms.

<span><span><span>Earlier, Intent wrote that Odesa region ranked sixth in terms of tourist tax, but Odesa lost half of its tourism revenue due to the war.</span></span></span>

Local budget revenues in Rivne region increased the most over the year - by 1.6 times. In the frontline Sumy region, the amount of tourist tax increased by 1.5 times, and in Kyiv, Ternopil, Odesa, and Mykolaiv regions - by 1.4 times. Compared to the period before the full-scale invasion, these are real records: Ivano-Frankivsk region, where revenues grew 4.5 times, and Chernivtsi region, with a 4.3-fold increase.

At the same time, Odesa region was among the three regions of Ukraine where foreigners were most active in setting up businesses in 2024. According to the Unified State Register, more than 1,100 new companies with foreign owners were registered in Ukraine last year, down 24.2% from 2023 and 60% from 2021. Most of these companies were opened in Kyiv (542 companies, 48.9%), Lviv (137 companies, 12.4%), and Odesa (122 companies, 11%).

Андрій Колісніченко