Odesa lost half of its tourism revenue due to the war

In Ukraine, the tourist tax in the first half of 2025 broke all records - local budgets received UAH 142.6 million, a third more than last year. Due to the war, Odesa lost almost half of the collection and lost ground to the leaders - Kyiv, Lviv, and Ivano-Frankivsk.

This is evidenced by the analysis of Opendatabot.

In the first half of 2025, Odesa's tourist tax lagged far behind pre-war figures. According to the State Tax Service of Ukraine, local budgets across the country received a record 142.6 million hryvnias, which is a third more than last year. Odesa, which ranked second in terms of revenue in 2021, lost almost half of its tax revenue due to the war.

In Mykolaiv region, the tourist tax amounted to UAH 810,000, while Kherson region did not report any figures due to the occupation.

Kyiv (UAH 33.6 million), Lviv (UAH 26.6 million), and Ivano-Frankivsk (UAH 22.1 million) remain the largest contributors to local budgets, accounting for more than half of all revenues. This year, tourists paid the tax almost equally: 55% came from large accommodation facilities, such as hotels and resorts, and 45% from private owners of apartments and estates.

Experts note that the actual market is much larger: not all owners rent out their homes officially and pay the tax. The introduction of a unified transaction register helps to reduce the "shadow" segment and makes revenues more transparent and stable.

The tourist tax is an additional payment for guests that goes directly to local budgets. In 2025, the maximum rate will be UAH 40 for Ukrainians and UAH 400 for foreigners, which, together with the increase in the minimum wage, will stimulate an increase in revenues.

At the same time, Odesa region was one of 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%).

Анна Бальчінос