A vast new ski area has been planned for Bukovel in the Ukraine. If the target size of 278km of trails, served by 35 lifts with uplift of 50,000 is achieved by 2008-9, it would be one of the world's 20 largest ski resorts.

The resort, which will have four main centres and has been planned by Austrian experts, will include summer tourist infrastructure designed for cycling, horseback riding, motorcycle racing, gliding flights and even a water chute.

Work has already begun on the ski area, first conceived in 2001. It opening with eight kilometres of trails last season, the area will expand to 20km and three new chairlifts will be added in time for next winter.

Nearly 12.5 million tourists visited Ukraine last year, a 19% rise from the 2002 figures. Tourism could become a blessing for Ukraine, which rivals France in size

and boasts a 48-million population. In the Carpathians, famed for their forest-covered mountains and thermal springs, hotel, ski stations and spas have been sprouting like mushrooms.