OREANDA-NEWS. October 07, 2008. Twenty owners of private homesteads in Rivne region (West Ukraine) were allocated noninterest loans from the budget worth UAH 100,000 (USD 1 - UAH 4.86) for organization of rural tourism. The homesteads were chosen according to a competition.

According to representative of the Rivne City Administration Yaroslava Havrylova, those who improve conditions for receiving guests by development of living infrastructure in their homesteads got the right for assistance. The chosen homesteads are located nearby the international highway Kyiv-Chop, next to the rare six-kilometer narrow-gage railroad in the north of Polissia, in the resort area of the Khrinniki lake, in the mountainous regions of central Polissia.

Residents whose homesteads are located alone excursion and pilgrimage routes obtained the financial resource. These routes lead to places where famous writers of 20th century Boris Ten and Ulas Samchuk were born as well as to monasteries, castles, fortresses of Dubno, Ostroh and Korets.

As many as 32 homesteads are already operating in Rivne region. They operate according to service standards developed in cooperation with authorities envisaging, in particular, educational work, familiarization of tourists with ethnographic traditions of the region, making national dishes.

According to Havrylova, the department for culture and tourism developed tourist routes through forests of Rivne region. The trips will be held along the roads leading, in particular, to places with relic flora and fauna, berry and mushroom areas. Each forestry will offer accommodations, national food, horse riding and ecological educational tours to tourists.