THE FIGURE OF SOFIIA YABLONSKA IN THE CONTEXT OF EXTREME TOURISM IN THE FIRST HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY

Abstract

Extreme tourism involves travelling in challenging conditions, participating in active recreation activities that pose risks to health and life, and overcoming obstacles. Its origins date back to the early twentieth century, and its rapid development and popularity in the twenty-first century can be explained by the availability of high-quality equipment, which allows not only professionals but also amateurs to engage in dangerous activities. Interest in this type of tourism is mostly characteristic of people who are prone to risk and adventurousness and of thrill seekers. When discussing the origins of extreme tourism in Ukraine, one cannot fail to mention the famous traveler and writer Sofiia Yablonska. The geography of her travels and choice of tourist destinations testify to her desire to deal with challenges and avoid easy paths. The research aims to analyze Sofiia Yablonska’s personality traits and journeys around the world, depicted in her books of travelogues «Letters from Paris. Letters from China» and «The Charm of Morocco. From the Land of Rice and Opium. Distant Horizons», in the context of extreme tourism and substantiate the necessity to incorporate her figure into the history of this industry in Ukraine. The analysis of the writer’s travelogues demonstrates that her travels can be regarded as the origins of extreme cultural tourism, which is viewed as journeys aimed at exploring other peoples’ cultures, associated with risks and dangers. In particular, the places she visited (the Far East and Africa) and her dangerous adventures (the incident in the Sahara, visiting the kaid’s harem, the bite of a banana viper, hunting a tiger, rescuing a small girl and her father during the flood, photographing hostile residents of Yunnan) testify to the Ukrainian traveler’s risk proneness and adventurousness, which allows her name to be written in the history of extreme tourism. The prospects for further research can be seen in a comparative study of the book by the Taiwanese writer and traveler Sanmao, «Stories of the Sahara», and Sofiia Yablonska’s travelogues in the context of extreme tourism.