The verdict is finally in. Apart from the self-congratulatory pat on the backs by Ukrainian officials and tournament organizers, a survey is out that found the Euro 2012 to be a smashing success among European fans.
Comissioned by Kyiv think tank Institute of World Policy, Market researcher GfK Ukraine polled 1,048
European fans before the 16 matches that took place in host cities Kyiv,
Donetsk, Kharkiv and Lviv in June.
Thus, the survey found that 84 percent were
glad that Euro 2012 took place in Ukraine instead of elsewhere, while 57
percent said the experience improved their overall perception of the country. The poll also found that
a whopping 76 percent of fans voiced their wish to visit once more as a tourist.
The Ukrainian people won out in the survey
– 72 percent of said they got to know the people of Ukraine the best above
football (42 percent), Ukrainian cuisine (30 percent), the history and
traditions (19 percent) and the political situation (14 percent).
In terms of general feelings, 56 percent
said they had affection for Ukraine, 38 percent respected the country, while 32
percent said the nation has their endorsement.
And if the top three word associations
before the Euro 2012 were footballer Andriy Shevchenko, football and girls and
women, then after they arrived, beautiful girls and women, Euro 2012 and good
and nice people topped the list.
Of those who visited both host countries,
Ukraine was favored slightly more (19 percent) than those who found Poland (17
percent) more interesting.
Some 10 percent of respondents said they
faced a situation where they gave a bribe, of whom 64 percent gave bribes to
the police; 20 percent to customs, 14 percent to a border guard; and 9 percent
to city officials.
Ukraine should improve English-language tourist information (42 percent), improve roads (33 percent) and reduce hotel prices (31 percent), the survey found when asking what should be done to attract more European tourists.
Although pollsters managed to survey a
citizen of each of the 27 EU member states except for Cyprus, it was limited in
scope. United Kingdom residents made up 20 percent of respondents, followed by
Germany with 14 percent and the Dutch with 12 percent.
Eighty nine percent of respondents were
male and 44 percent were aged between 25 and 34 years.
What should be done to attract more European tourists to Ukraine?
| Improve tourist information in English in different cities | 42% |
| Improve roads | 33% |
| Reduce hotel prices | 31% |
| Increase English language knowledge among population | 26% |
| Improve service in hotels | 23% |
| Improve transport infrastructure between cities | 22% |
| Improve transport infrastructure in cities | 22% |
| Investment money in places of interest | 21% |
| Improve online tourist information in English | 19% |
| More tolerance and friendliness toward foreigners | 9% |
| Difficult to say | 6% |
| Other | 1% |
Source: GfK Ukraine poll of 1,048 respondents of citizens of 26 EU countries taken in June in the four host cities of Donetsk, Kharkiv, Kyiv and Lviv.
Kyiv
Post staff writer Mark Rachkevych can be reached [email protected].
