Chairperson of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine Personal detailsBorn (1982-04-10) April 10, 1982 (age 42)
Lviv, Ukraine

Mariana Oleskiv (born April 10, 1982) is a Ukrainian high-ranking official^[1]  who has been working in the field of tourism and MICE since 2002.

In March 2020 she was appointed chair of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine,^[2] the main mission of which is to implement state policy in the field of tourism and resorts of Ukraine. The Agency's activities primarily focus on the development of the tourism potential of regions as well as conducting marketing campaigns to promote the country as an appealing tourist destination, both domestically and internationally.

Education

Mariana Oleskiv attended Lyceum No. 2 with an emphasis on English language studies from 1988 to 1999. She attended the Ivan Franko National University of Lviv from 1999 to 2004.^[3] She is fluent in Ukrainian and English.

Work experience

In 2008 Mariana Oleskiv was responsible for technical support organization for EBRD annual meetings in Ukraine.^[4]

From 2013 to 2015 she was head of the Travel Agencies and Travel Bureaus "Slupskyi" Llc. She was engaged in the development of organizational and financial project management methods, including promoting Ukraine as an attractive country for conducting business events.^[5]

From 2016 to 2018 she was head of KP "Lviv Tourism Development Center"  of Lviv City Council. She managed the operations of the enterprise that included Tourist Information Centers, a Marketing department, and City Museum. She was also responsible for the promotion of Lviv on international markets and collaborations with international organizations. Mariana Oleskiv launched the Lviv City Card – a tourist card that provides access to the most popular sights and public transport. Under Mariana Oleskiv 's leadership, Lviv was granted the privilege to host participants of the 5th European Cities Marketing (ECM) organization's meeting for Tourist Information Centers of European Cities.^[6][7]

In March 2020 she was appointed chair of the State Agency for Tourism Development of Ukraine (SATD).

In September 2020 she became a member of the working group within the Committee on Humanitarian and Information Policy concerning the state, issues, and development prospects of tourism in Ukraine, specifically for the "Travel Ukraine" initiative focused on domestic tourism development.^[8]

Other activity

During the summer season of 2021 Mariana Oleskiv launched a marketing campaign, thanks to which approximately 60 thousand Saudi Arabians visited Ukraine.^[9]

In April 2022, at the initiative of Mariana Oleskiv and the SATD team, the Russian Federation was suspended from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), resulting in the immediate loss of its rights and privileges. In fact, this is the only UN organization that completely suspended the membership of the Russian Federation.^[10]

In May 2022, under the leadership of Mariana Oleskiv, SATD became a member of the European Travel Commission (ETC). ETC officially invited SATD to join the organization.^[11][12]

In March 2023 Mariana Oleskiv was appointed Commissioner of the Ukrainian pavilion at the world's largest architectural exhibition – Biennale Architettura 2023.^[13]

In September 2023 SATD won the Silver Dolphin award for the best corporate and documentary film at the Cannes Corporate Media & TV Awards.^[14][15]

References