Currently, in Ukraine, there are 3,245 sanatorium, resort, and rehabilitation facilities, including 465 sanatoria (173 for children), 59 curative boarding houses, 291 preventing sanatoria, 321 rest houses, 2,052 rest bases and other resort establishments, as well as 57 rest houses for one or two days’ stay.
Network of state-level resorts in Ukraine have mineral and thermal water springs, curative mud and ozokerite, the brine of estuaries and lakes, sea area, landscape, and other conditions favorable for treatment, medical rehabilitation, and the preventing of diseases.
The majority of resorts are situated in Crimea, especially along the southern coast (Alupka, Alushta, Miskhor, Yalta, Gaspra, Koreiz, Koktebel, Evpatoriya, Saki, and others).
A successful combination of the marine and steppe climate, plenty of sunny days, the warm Black Sea washing its seashore, salt reservoir-estuaries with healthy high quality muds, and plenty of vegetables, fruits and grapes attract more and more tourists. Here, holidaymakers can combine treatment and beach rest with interesting cultural and active entertainment programs. The resort has considerable supplies of medical silt mud from Kuyalnik, Khadzhybey estuaries, and Tuzla salt lakes, and also mineral waters of various physical and chemical composition.
The Zakarpatye region - a pearl of Ukraine. Climatic factors here are successfully combined with different mineral waters and a clean environment. Mineral waters are the main curative factor of Zakarpatye. Natural mineral water springs and wells of mineral water of different chemical composition can be found here.
The resorts of littoral regions are well-known for their curative resources (Odessa, Zatoka, Karolino-Bugaz, Koblevo, Ochakov, Skadovsk, Berdyansk, Primorsk, and Kirilovka). Ferriferous waters from Slovyanogorsk spring are successfully used to treat iron deficit anemia. Besides, a group of salt lakes of karst origin, the so called Slovyanskie lakes, are located in Donetsk region. Lake brine by its chemical composition is close to sodium chloride waters and contains sulphates. Curative silt muds on these lakes and highly mineralized brines of sodium and chloride content (with mineralization of 130-140 g/l) are used for so called diluted mud baths.
The increase in the number of foreign tourists resting in Ukrainian resorts is one of the important factors for the recreational and resort industry of Ukraine receiving recognition on the international market. In particular, the number of foreign citizens choosing sanatoria, resorts, and rehabilitation facilities in Ukraine increased by 35.5% over the period from 2000 to 2005.
Resorts in Ukraine are most popular among the states that previously were a part of the Soviet Union. Each year more than 391 ths. foreign tourists come here, including 289.2 ths. vacationers from Russia, 50.2 ths. people from Belarus, and 40.8 ths. people from Moldova, and other countries.
At the same time, it should be noted that the number of tourists from elsewhere that choose Ukraine as a place for rest is growing each year. At present the major number of guests come from Germany (11.9 ths. people), Poland (6.1 ths. people), Israel (1.7 ths. people), the USA (1.1 ths. people), and other states.
Crimean resorts (288.8 ths. of tourists or 70% of the total number of foreign tourists), Odessa region (51.1 ths. people and 13%), Lvov region (30.3 ths. people or 7%), as well as Nikolayev, Zaporozhye, and Kherson regions, and the city of Sevastopol (6,136 tourists or 1%) are in the most demand with foreign tourists.
