The village of Zelenyi Hai in the Dnipropetrovsk region has a chance to become a member of the UN’s network of the best tourist villages. This village of the Sursko-Lithuanian community was included in the list of five settlements from all over Ukraine that will compete for a place in the UN Best Tourism Villages 2024 network.
Obtaining this status will provide Zelenyi Hai with new investment opportunities, increase the tourist attractiveness of the area, and attract the attention of travelers from different countries. In addition, the village will be able to take advantage of advice from the best industry experts and attract investors.
Over the past ten years, Zelenyi Hai has been actively developing green tourism. There is an eco-farm, an author’s cheese factory, and a recreation area with a beach. Local entrepreneurs also implement charitable projects. Since the beginning of the war, they have taken in more than 300 people with their pets fleeing the “hot spots” and helped more than 1500 evacuated animals.
The Sursko-Lithuanian community is also known for other unusual places for recreation and tourism. For example, in the village of Novomykolaivka, there is a lake that is considered one of the deepest in the region and has the status of “bottomless”. It attracts divers, treasure hunters and tourists from all over Ukraine. A special attraction is the underwater museum created by enthusiasts at the bottom of the lake.
We will find out by the end of the year whether Zelenyi Hai will be included in the list of the world’s most interesting tourist villages. In total, five settlements from Ukraine are participating in the selection process, with documents submitted by the State Agency for Tourism Development.
For investors interested in the development of the Sursko-Lithuanian community, 7 land plots with a total area of more than 45 hectares are offered for the implementation of business projects. More proposals and projects supported by DIA can be found on the investment portal website at https://dia.dp.gov.ua/investicijni-propozici%d1%97/
Additional information:
UN Tourism launched the Best Tourism Villages initiative in 2021. Since then, 190 villages from around the world have joined the UN Tourism Best Tourism Villages network, with no Ukrainian villages among them yet.
This global initiative recognizes villages that are leading the way in rural development and preserving landscapes, cultural diversity, local values, and culinary traditions.
Source: information for this article was taken from open online sources
