The article analyzes the potential, trends and prospects of the Lviv tourism market development. Тhe importance of service sphere to Western Ukraine is emphasized. It was determined that today tourism is one of the two priority areas for the city. The Competitiveness Strategy and the Plan of the Lviv tourist activities development for 2009-2015 were analyzed. The number of tourists visiting Lviv annually is recognized as the key indicator for tourism business. The estimated number of tourists visiting the city was calculated on the basis of expert estimates - it is in the range from 1 million to 2 million people and increasing annually.
It was stated that an important factor that directly affects the development of tourism in Lviv is a political situation in Ukraine. The popularity of the city among tourists has increased after Euro-2012, there was a significant boost in the development of the hotel business. At the same time tourism has slowed down after the revolutionary events of the winter 2013-2014. Based on the analysis of recreational and business tourism in Lviv, the priority of business tourism and the need to improve the necessary infrastructure were recognized. It is also important to increase the length of stay of visitors in the city, in particular by expanding the opportunities for budget tourism.