TRANSFORMATION OF TOURIST FLOWS AS A FACTOR IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE HOTEL BUSINESS OF UKRAINE IN THE CONDITIONS OF MILITARY, ECONOMIC AND DIGITAL CHALLENGES

The article examines the impact of tourist flows on the development of the hotel industry in Ukraine under the current transformational conditions caused by the full-scale war, economic instability, digitalization, and changing tourist behavior. It is substantiated that tourist flows are a key determinant of hospitality business performance, influencing hotel occupancy, financial results, investment activity, and competitiveness. The study demonstrates that the efficiency of hotel enterprises depends not only on the volume of tourist flows but also on their qualitative characteristics, including demand structure, the length of stay, seasonality, tourist expenditure, and the level of consumers’ digital engagement. The paper analyzes the main trends in the Ukrainian tourism market during 2022–2025. The findings reveal that the full-scale war has led to a significant territorial redistribution of tourist activity, an increased the role of domestic tourism, a higher share of long-term accommodation, and growing customer expectations regarding safety, digital services, energy resilience, and service quality. It is established that regional disparities in tourist flows require the implementation of adaptive management models for hospitality enterprises. Based on the analysis of the Ukrainian Business Index (UBI), the study confirms that weak business expectations adversely affect the corporate tourism segment, investment activity, and the financial performance of hotel enterprises. The strategic directions for improving the competitiveness of the hotel industry are identified, including the digitalization of management systems, the implementation of demand forecasting and revenue of management technologies, CRM systems, diversification of hotel services, enhanced energy efficiency, and greater operational resilience. The research substantiates the feasibility of integrating of innovative management approaches with the principles of sustainable development and the post-crisis recovery of Ukraine’s tourism industry. The scientific and methodological approach to assessing the impact of the transformation of tourist flows on the development of the hotel business has been improved by developing an author's conceptual model that integrates security, economic, digital, energy, and behavioral factors in the formation of tourist demand and allows determining strategic directions for the adaptation of hospitality enterprises.