Rural Tourism in Ukraine: Peculiarities and Trends of Development

This article considers peculiarities of rural green tourism development in Ukraine. We have analyzed the concepts of "rural tourism", "ecological tourism", "agritourism". Moreover, the factors, promoting development of rural tourism in Ukraine, have been singled out and its present-day features and tendencies have been analyzed. Particular attention is paid to the characteristics of main areas in rural tourism development in Ukraine. There are 4 rural tourism areas: Western, Central, Eastern and Southern. Based on the results of a sociological survey the prospects for developing green tourism in a highly urbanized region of Ukraine were outlined. A detailed SWOT-analysis has been also carried out allowing us to see further prospects for the development of this type of tourism and its possible threats. Tourism can have a positive influence on the socio-economic development of rural areas.