Diversification of Activities of Ecotourism Enterprises in Administrative-Territorial Units of Lviv Oblast

Abstract

The article examines the problem of diversifying the activities of ecotourism enterprises in the administrative-territorial units of Lviv region under martial law conditions and intensified seasonality. It is established that more than two-thirds of the region's tourism levy is concentrated in four locations, while the remaining communities remain on the market's periphery despite possessing Carpathian landscapes, nature reserves, and balneological resources. Based on critical analysis of classical diversification strategies (horizontal, vertical, concentric, conglomerate), the relevance of concentric and horizontal forms for micro and small ecotourism enterprises with limited resource potential is substantiated, while the conglomerate strategy is shown to produce a resource-dissipation effect. A functional distinction between the concepts of "ecotourism" and "rural green tourism" within the framework of current Ukrainian legislation, considering UNWTO and TIES criteria, has been established: "rural green tourism" is interpreted as an organizational-legal form of economic activity, while "ecotourism" is treated as service content with mandatory interpretive and nature-conservation elements. A typology of five diversification directions is proposed: educational programs in the environmental education format, wellness and recreational services, production and sale of local products, event-based ecotourism, and digital services. Three distinct diversification models corresponding to the natural-recreational profile of administrative-territorial units are substantiated: for the Carpathian zone (Skolivshchyna, Turkivshchyna, Drohobychshchyna) – a nature-based model emphasizing educational programs, mountain active tourism, and Boiko gastro-craft; for the Roztochya-Opillia zone – wellness retreats and ornithological tourism within the transboundary UNESCO biosphere reserve framework; for lowland communities (Zhovkivshchyna, Zolochivshchyna, Brodivshchyna) – an agro-gastronomic and cultural-historical model centered on the "Golden Horseshoe" castles. The foreign Carpathian experience of Poland (LEADER cluster model), Romania (integration of ethnographic and natural layers), and Slovakia (uniqueness branding) has been analyzed, and adaptation opportunities through the Interreg NEXT Poland-Ukraine 2021–2027 program have been identified.