A WOODEN TOURIST STAMP AS AN INNOVATIVE SOUVENIR IN THE TOURIST ACTIVITY OF THE UKRAINE

Purpose. Organising excursion services of the Ukrainian tourism industry on the global market is still underdeveloped and uncompetitive. The main excursion objects and complexes have been abandoned and require rebuilding and restoration. Thus, the infrastructure needs reconstruction and repair, while the level of services not meeting international standards should be improved. The entertainment industry is poorly developed and unorganised, and a significant list of environmental, social and economic problems is not resolved. Considering the above, it is necessary to identify measures to stimulate and promote excursion services in the Ukraine. Changing this situation will make it possible to turn the domestic organisation of excursion services on the international market into a prosperous, stable and competitive endeavour. Methods. Comparative, statistical, quantitative, field research and the survey method provided an opportunity to form a map of tourist marked places in the Ukraine, by means of which analysis was conducted. In the conclusions, the most tourist marked places in the Ukraine were noted finding out which regions are leaders, and where these sites are non-existent. Findings. The introduction of selling the wooden tourist stamp in almost all regions of the Ukraine in the complex of all souvenir products was among the new, important measures in this direction. This is of incredible popularity among tourists of different age groups. This research will help to achieve: the maximum possible use of excursion services; maximum consumer satisfaction among different tourist groups; representation of the widest selection of excursion services for the various members of the excursion groups; maximisation of the quality of excursion services. Research and conclusions limitations. The scope of analysis was limited by the sources of information which were the official websites of wooden tourist stamps of European countries. The authors also reviewed scientific articles in different languages: Czech, Slovak, Polish and English. Geographically, the analysis was limited to the territorial boundaries of the Ukraine. Analysis was carried out mainly via field methods. Practical implications. The use, distribution and introduction of wooden tourist stamps in all regions of the Ukraine will enable the tourism industry to increase the intensity of excursion flows, as a result, financing can be found for the maintenance, development and preservation of excursion objects. This may also attract the attention of state and public organisations in order to save valuable objects. Type of paper. In the article, the appearance of the most popular wooden tourist stamps are described. On the basis of analysis, their main content characteristics are identified and their types and main available category groups are presented throughout all regions of the Ukraine.