APPROACHES TO THE POSITIONING OF TOURIST DESTINATIONS UNDER THE CHALLENGES OF WAR: AN ANALYSIS OF THE EXPERIENCE OF THE COUNTRIES OF THE BALKAN PENINSULA

Abstract

The war in Ukraine, caused by the military invasion of the Russian Federation on February 24, 2022, has radically changed the Ukrainian people’s life in many spheres. Due to the war, tourism in its traditional form (with recreational, educational, entertainment, business and medical purposes), was put on pause. The informational consequences of the Russian-Ukrainian war at the global level were the rapid growth of awareness and interest in Ukraine, including potential tourists. At the same time, the impact of this war, even after our Victory, will have an impact on the tourism sphere as well in the perception of Ukraine as a tourist destination for a long time. The article aims to analyze the approaches to nation and destination rebranding, tourism marketing and broadcasting of historical memory, that different countries have chosen for themselves at the post-conflict stage. The article also investigates the effect of this rebranding for the development of tourism in these states. Based on the analysis of authoritative literary sources (scientific articles) about the cases of the Balkans (Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina), which have passed this way, the analysis of the dynamics of tourist flows and the positioning of their tourist brand, the author now highlights approaches to post-conflict branding of countries and tourist destinations and aspects of covering the memory of the tragic events of the war. “How should Ukraine position itself and talk about itself to the world after the end of the war?”, “What should we talk about in the first place to attract tourists?”, “What should be the ethical approach to tourism branding of Ukraine?” – with the strong faith in the Victory and gratitude to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the author seeks answers to these questions and opens an academic discussion on the formation of the tourism brand of Ukraine after the war.