25 June 2024

Crimea will not be attractive for tourists for a long time after de-occupation, first of all, we need to take care of security

The problem of depopulation and the provision of basic natural resources are the challenges that Crimea will face after de-occupation. The occupation authorities are depleting water resources, bringing the water crisis on the peninsula closer. We should also be prepared for them. 

The economic, energy and security factors were discussed by experts during the panel discussion “Economy and War: Socio-Economic Development of the Borderline and the Entire Black Sea Region”. 

According to Yevhen Khlobystov, Doctor of Economics, Professor, Dean of the Faculty of Natural Sciences at the National University of Kyiv-Mohyla Academy, when planning the economy of the liberated peninsula, it is necessary to focus on the model when Crimea is a borderland that could potentially be in the area of impact of multiple rocket launchers if Russia does not disappear from the world map. 

“We should forget about tourism in Crimea in the first period after de-occupation. The peninsula will be a frontline border area and the security factor will play a role not only for Crimea but for the whole of southern Ukraine,” he said. 

 The experts expressed the opinion that due to the energy problems that Russia is currently imposing on Ukraine, it will also be difficult to provide Crimea with all the power it needs. Therefore, the development of alternative energy sources is a promising prospect. 

According to Olha Yevstignieva, decarbonisation expert at the Office for Recovery and Reforms at the Ministry of Energy of Ukraine, Ukraine has the largest renewable energy potential among Eastern European countries. This is especially true for wind power generation. As for offshore generation, the largest potential is in the Black Sea. This potential exceeds all the energy capacities that Ukraine had as of 2021. 

Instead, Oleksandra Azarkhina, former Deputy Minister of Community Development of Territories and Infrastructure of Ukraine (2022-2024), is convinced that Crimea – as it is now – is all about closure. Closed transport corridors, economic and mental closure, and closure of all manifestations of freedom and human rights:

“Therefore, when we talk about a reintegration strategy, it is first of all to open it anew to Ukraine and the world.”