MECHANISMS AND VECTORS OF THE EUROPEAN INTEGRATION–DRIVEN TRANSFORMATION OF THE UKRAINIAN HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY

Abstract

Introduction. European integration is a systemic factor in the transformation of service markets that goes far beyond the formal alignment of national legislation with EU law and encompasses profound changes in business models, managerial practices, and consumer behavior. The hospitality industry is one of the most sensitive segments of the service sector to changes in the institutional, regulatory, and market environment, owing to its high dependence on consumer and labor mobility and its close cross-sectoral links with tourism, transport, and creative industries. Ukrainian acquisition of EU candidate country status reinforces the need for a systemic understanding of the mechanisms of such influence, whereas the scholarly literature remains dominated by a fragmented approach in which regulatory harmonisation, market liberalisation or the digitalisation of the sector are analysed in isolation from one another, without constructing a holistic model capable of explaining the logic of transition from primary mechanisms of influence to the strategic transformation of enterprises.

Purpose. The purpose of this article is to systematize the mechanisms and vectors of the impact of European integration on the Ukrainian hospitality industry and, on this basis, to develop an integrative model of its transformation in European integration. The proposed model links the mechanisms of influence, transformation vectors, and trajectories of the industry's qualitative transition into a coherent conceptual framework while identifying the practical implications for its stakeholders.

Materials and methods. The information base of the study comprised EU legal and regulatory acts, European Commission reports, Eurostat data, data from the European Travel Commission and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, as well as contemporary international and Ukrainian scholarly publications. The study employed methods of theoretical generalization and systematization to structure the mechanisms, vectors, and trajectories of transformation; comparative analysis to juxtapose manifestations of European integration influence across different segments of the hospitality industry; the modeling method to construct an integrative three-level model of industry transformation; and the abstract-logical method to formulate theoretical generalizations and practical recommendations.

Results. Eight mechanisms of European integration influence on the hospitality industry were systematized: regulatory, market, institutional, socio-cultural, technological, ecological, economic-investment, and educational. Five vectors of sectoral transformation were identified – structural, competitive, behavioral, managerial, and spatial – reflecting specific manifestations of integration influence on business models, competitive behavior, consumer practices, and managerial approaches of enterprises. Four trajectories of qualitative transition from formal harmonization to strategic transformation of the sector were distinguished: from harmonization of norms to changes in service quality, from market access to competition of competencies, from standardization to innovation, and from adaptation to development. Based on the systematized mechanisms, vectors, and trajectories, an original integrative three-level model with a feedback loop was developed, formalizing the cyclical rather than linear nature of the hospitality industry's European integration transformation, and differentiated practical recommendations for industry enterprises were formulated.

Prospects. Future research should focus on validating the proposed model by analyzing the European integration trajectories of Central and Eastern European countries. This will enable the identification of typical transformation scenarios, the development of a system of indicators, and the determination of best practices for the adaptation of the Ukrainian hospitality industry.