DEVELOPMENT OF TOURIST FACILITIES IN CRISIS PERIODS: SOCIAL AND INFORMATION FACTORS

Abstract

Even during stable periods for society, predicting the success or failure in the development of a specific recreational direction or site can be challenging, and it is especially difficult during times of crisis. Among other factors, the socio-cultural significance and media coverage of a tourist site can be considered important contributors to its development. This article examines these issues using the Haivoron Narrow-Gauge Railway as an example. The aim of the research is to analyze the ways of developing and promoting a specific tourist site during a crisis period, as well as the sources of information and advertising that accompany this process. The Haivoron Railway is a "tourist magnet" for two regions, but its path to tourist popularity has not been easy. During the 2010s, Ukrainian Railways intended to dismantle it as economically inefficient, but due to pressure from the local population and the public, it was preserved. Railway enthusiasts, local historians, veteran railway workers, and journalists contributed to organizing the first tourist trips on retro trains. Later, with the onset of large-scale military actions, the railway once again began to fulfill its transportation functions. Thanks to the media and narrow-gauge railway enthusiasts from around the world, its recognition has grown, making it a well-known tourist site. The tourism function of the Haivoron Railway is secondary. The main function is still logistical, and therefore, the article examines the development of both primary and secondary functions. Among the factors that contributed to the development and preservation of the transport-tourist site, several key ones can be highlighted: social, informational, and crisis period factors. Industrial tourism sites, to which the "Haivoron – Rudnytsia" railway can undoubtedly be attributed, have great potential and tourist appeal, particularly for the central and eastern regions of Ukraine. Their preservation and restoration are important for the development of both domestic and international tourism. A distinctive feature of this railway is that it is an operational transport site whose tourist functions are secondary, but it is precisely its tourist recognition that has prevented its final closure and destruction.