The opening of an airport in Lviv can help close the skies over Ukraine, head of the Lviv Regional State Administration Maksym Kozytsky said during the National Tourism Summit in Lviv on Friday.

"Many thanks to the Ukrainian tourism sector for their faith in the state, for the fact that investments continue. And we believe that after our victory, Lviv and Ukraine will be one of the main tourist destinations (geographical territory attractive to tourists) on the map of Europe. It is important for us to open the airport. At every international meeting, we emphasize that opening the airport means, on the one hand, closing the skies over Ukraine. On the other hand, this is a huge opportunity for a foreign investor, a foreign tourist to see Ukraine. This is an opportunity for people to travel and it is an opportunity to understand that the distance, for example, from Lviv to London is almost the same as the distance from Lviv to Donetsk. That we are a very big state and united in our dream to win," he said.

At the same time, Kozytsky voiced a number of challenges that the tourism industry must solve.

"One of the main challenges is accessibility. The hospitality industry must be ready to provide services to people with certain characteristics, people with disabilities. And it must be ready to accept them and their families," the head of the Regional State Administration emphasized.