Сучасний стан та перспективи розвитку туризму в Самборі та його околицях (Львівська область)

Abstract

Вдале поєднання природних і суспільних ресурсів створює сприятливі передумови для розвитку туризму в Західній Україні. Одним з місць, що відзначається значним туристичним потенціалом, є місто Самбір Львівської області. У статті подано оцінку сучасного стану туристичної індустрії в місті та околицях, розкрито чинники, які створюють передумови перетворення цієї локації в успішний туристичний осередок.

The successful combination of natural and social resources creates the conditions for the development of tourism in Western Ukraine. However, the distribution of tourists across the region is highly uneven – the most visited destinations are the long-established, well-known cities of Lviv, Uzhhorod, Bukovel, Yaremche, Truskavets and others. The situation is different, however, in lesser-known yet no less attractive locations. One such place, which has already achieved certain successes in tourism development but whose potential is significantly greater, is the town of Sambir in Lviv Oblast. This article presents the current state of the tourism industry in the town and its surroundings, and explores the factors that create all the conditions for transforming this location into a successful tourist destination. Western Ukraine is a well-known tourist region. This is due to a combination of natural and social resources. Natural resources include a favourable climate, the Carpathian mountain range, the river systems of the Dniester, Prut, Tisa, Pripyat and others, lakes (Shatsk, Synevyr), healing mineral waters (Truskavets, Polyana, Shayan and others), diverse vegetation (ranging from steppes to forests and alpine meadows) and other factors. Social resources include historical and cultural, labour, financial, infrastructural and other factors. Tourist resources are unevenly distributed across the region, which in turn leads to spatial variations in the concentration of tourist flows. The region’s most visited locations are considered to be large cities with a rich historical past (Lviv, Kamianets-Podilskyi, Uzhhorod, Chernivtsi), as well as well-promoted natural locations with developed tourist infrastructure (Bukovel, Yaremche, Slavske, etc.). Visitors are also drawn to places where they can improve their health. These include the balneological resorts of Truskavets, Morshyn, Polyana, Shayan, and Skalat, as well as places where recreational opportunities are successfully combined with well-developed infrastructure (this mainly applies to mountainous regions with largely unspoilt landscapes – Yaremche, Pylypets, and others). This approach leaves a significant part of the region overlooked by tourists, which, on the one hand, limits visitors’ access to tourist services and, on the other, prevents promising tourist destinations from developing. These include small towns, which often possess considerable tourist potential. One such town is Sambir, located in the south-eastern part of Lviv Oblast, with a population of around 30 000. Its location at the crossroads of the routes from Lviv to Uzhhorod and from Stryi to the border with Poland, in the immediate vicinity of the Carpathians, near the confluence of the Stryvigor River with the Dniester on a highly dissected watershed, has enabled this town to develop actively since the mid-13 th century. The result of this is the presence in the central part of the town of a well-preserved architectural ensemble comprising churches, administrative buildings, townhouses and castle premises, which attracts tourists. The presence in the Church of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the relics of St. Valentine, the patron saint of lovers, attracts a steady stream of visitors, particularly young people. Another important feature of this church is the presence of a miraculous icon of the Virgin Mary, donated to the church in 1727. In Sambir itself and its surrounding area, there are a number of museums, foremost among which are the “Boikivshchyna” Historical and Ethnographic Museum and the Petro Sahaidachny Memorial Museum, located in the hetman’s birthplace in the village of Kulchytsi. The natural conditions of the area provide grounds for identifying a number of interesting geotourism sites, which illustrate both the evolution of the territory throughout the Pleistocene in particular, the glacial advance during the Tiligulian climatic period ‒ and the most recent (Holocene) period. This has led to the identification of at least four significant geotourism sites near the villages of Kruzhiky, Dubrivka, Torganovychi and Zarichchia, in the vicinity of Sambir. Tourist infrastructure is a key component of a destination’s appeal. In the authors’ view, it is the most problematic element among the tourist resources of Sambir and its surroundings. Although the region is characterised by good transport accessibility (with road and rail links available), the poor condition of secondary roads complicates access to a significant number of sites in the area and reduces the mobility of the local population and potential visitors. Despite the significant population of around 40 000 in Sambir and the surrounding area, the number of beds in accommodation establishments (hotels, motels) is just over 100, which is a very low figure. It is also worth noting the absence of categorised establishments. There are quite a few catering establishments in the area under study, but the lack of chain outlets and weak advertising efforts prevent them from realising their full potential. An important feature within the study area is the presence of tourist facilities, sports venues and recreational areas capable of meeting the needs of both the local population and visitors. However, their number and capacity are insufficient. Thus, Sambir and its surroundings are characterised by a large number of tourist attractions of various kinds. Before the war began, first in 2014 and then in 2022, the town welcomed a considerable number of foreign tourists, as its proximity to the border with Poland, the large number of historical and cultural sites primarily religious ones affordable prices and existing infrastructure served as factors stimulating tourism. However, with the start of the fullscale invasion, foreign tourists virtually disappeared, and domestic tourists proved unable to fill this gap. We therefore consider it appropriate to emphasise that towns such as Sambir, of which there are many in Western Ukraine, require active intervention by local authorities to promote numerous tourist destinations at local, regional and national levels, and to encourage businesses to provide high-quality and diverse tourist services.