ТЕОРЕТИЧНІ ЗАСАДИ ДОСЛІДЖЕННЯ ТУРИСТИЧНОЇ ІНФРАСТРУКТУРИ ЯК ІННОВАЦІЙНОЇ ОСНОВИ РЕГІОНАЛЬНОГО РОЗВИТКУ ТУРИЗМУ

Abstract

The article deals with the scientific approaches to the formation of theoretical and methodological foundations of tourism infrastructure innovative development in the context of regional economics and tourism research. The main theoretical provisions of modern research of tourist infrastructure, in particular regarding its content and structure, are highlighted. Definitions illustrating the main approaches to the interpretation of the concept of "tourism infrastructure" in Ukrainian and foreign science are analyzed. It was found that the dominant interpretation, which highlights the tourism infrastructure as a branch of the economy, rather than as a spatial structure. Modern tourism infrastructure covers almost all areas of tourism and includes tourism entities, the hospitality industry, tourism services and tourism products. The main elements of the tourism infrastructure are accommodation establishments, catering establishments, elements of the transport infrastructure. The accompanying infrastructure includes cultural institutions, entertainment facilities, sports facilities, health care facilities, within which additional tourism services are provided. Tourism infrastructure also has its own internal structure, which requires constant development and modernization. Research in the field of tourism infrastructure is innovative. Given the fact that most tourism resources are not subject to significant modifications in the process of destination management, it is the infrastructure that becomes a significant innovative factor in their development. It is concluded that the availability of tourism infrastructure forms tourism regions, promotes their tourism specialization. Due to the availability of infrastructural connections between individual facilities, the quality of tourism services in the destination is increasing. In the socio-humanitarian dimension, the functioning of tourism infrastructure is primarily due to the specific complex of human needs that are met by tourism and have sufficient motivational power to encourage people to travel. A special role in the development of tourism infrastructure is played by the marketing policy of regional tourism development, which allows intensifying tourist flows by forming competitive regional and local tourism products.