CIRCULAR ECONOMY AND TOURISM: CURRENT TRENDS AND OPPORTUNITIES

Abstract

The article substantiates that tourism belongs to the resource-intensive sectors of the economy, which carries a significant environmental burden through a developed network of transport infrastructure, water and energy consumption, waste generation and, as a result, causes a significant impact on the environment. Therefore, an important issue for tourism is the circular economy approaches using, that allow minimizing this impact and are aimed at ensuring the sustainable use of natural resources, preserving biodiversity and increasing social and economic benefits for local communities.

It was emphasized that renewable energy sources using by tourist infrastructure facilities can be one of the directions of the circular approach. International tourism is a source of carbon dioxide emissions through the use of various types of transport. The circular economy offers a transition to electric vehicles; bicycles; public transport, which is characterized by a relatively low level of emissions; hydrogen technologies and biofuels using, which is an impetus for reducing the carbon footprint. Waste management is another direction of the circular economy. For the tourism sector, the issues of waste sorting, the creation of closed water supply systems, biodegradable materials using, and the organization of resource reuse programs are important. Attention was drawn to the fact that the circular economy in tourism is an important tool in the fight against climate changes. Rational use of resources, preservation of ecosystems, reduction of carbon emissions, and the introduction of an appropriate certification system for tourist facilities – all this contributes to global climate goals’ achieving.

The draft strategy for the implementation of circular economy principles in Ukraine was considered, which contains four strategic goals: development and harmonization of legislation for the European Union integration; development of business; public awareness, social responsibility of business; promotion of innovative development and «green transition», aimed at environmentally safe, competitive and sustainable economic growth of Ukraine through effective management of resources and waste.

It was noted that circular strategies of Ukraine require unified generalized approaches for making effective decisions in the field of circular economy.