КУЛЬТУРНЫЙ ТУРИЗМ НА СЕЛЬСКИХ ТЕРРИТОРИЯХ: РЕСУРСЫ, ПРОБЛЕМЫ, ПЕРСПЕКТИВЫ

Abstract

Rural tourism is widely used to activate rural areas. However, the development of tourism in rural areas should not be narrowed down only to this type of tourism. Cultural tourism is promising in this regard. The purpose of this study (using the example of the North- West of Russia) is to assess the resource potential of cultural tourism in rural areas, to identify main problems and prospects for its development. It is revealed that rural territories have a sufficient number of cultural heritage sites suitable for exhibition (hereinafter CHS). 70% of all CHSs of the North-West of Russia are located in rural areas. Of the total number of CHSs in rural areas, 13.4% are of federal importance. The regularity of obtaining a greater effect from cultural tourism in places with a high density of CHSs has been established. The most promising rural areas for cultural tourism have been identified. The resources of cultural tourism on Kizhi Island (Republic of Karelia) and in the village of Izborsk (Pskov region) are considered in detail. The positive practice of activating cultural tourism on the example of the Izborsk fortress has shown the presence of a multiplicative effect for the development of rural areas. However, the development of cultural tourism is hindered by the difficult transport accessibility of the CHSs, insufficient level of their quality condition and limited budget funds intended for the restoration of architectural monuments. The content of the official websites of a significant part of cultural tourism objects does not contribute to the formation of their image and creation of a brand. Prospects for the development of cultural tourism are associated with solving these problems by preservation of existing and creation of new subsidy mechanisms, attraction of private capital.