Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelinsky said on Thursday that the country is considering abolishing its visa requirements for tourists from China, Australia, New Zealand and Arab countries in order to attract more visitors as soon as the measures of public isolation are eased and more money is brought to the economy.
The government expects the economy to shrink by 12% in the second quarter of the year, after a 1.5% decline in the first quarter.
"It is necessary to liberalize the visa policy. If countries eliminate visa requirements for Ukrainians who come to them, we will cancel them as well. We need to compete against tourists," Zielinski said.
According to the president’s communications department, a foreign tourist usually spends between 120 and 150 dollars a day and spends an average of three or four days in Ukraine. About 14 million tourists visited the country in 2018.
Last year, Ukraine introduced electronic visas to citizens of 52 countries, including China and Australia. A 30-day individual visa costs $ 85. Citizens of the European Union can enter without a visa for short trips.