Application of sociological methods in a comprehensive research of the socio-environmental problems of tourist territories

Abstract

Tourism is one of economic activity that has been most affected by restrictions, connected with the COVID-19 pandemic, which in 2020–2021 has become the main factor in shaping the demand for the tourist product. As a result of quarantine restrictions, the number of tourists and the structure of the tourist flow have changed. The pandemic has impact on recreational activities in the Southern Baikal region (Slyudyansky district of the Irkutsk region) which is the study area. During the field research in the summer (beach and hiking) and winter (mountain skiing) tourist seasons sociological studies (questionnaires and interviews) of recreants were carried out. The tourist geographical spread was defined, as well as the attitude to the social and natural conditions of the territory was found such as safety, tourist infrastructure development, availability of recreational services and products, climate, landscapes beauty, etc. During the pandemic, the geographical spread of tourists narrowed mainly to the Irkutsk-Cheremkhovo agglomeration, foreign tourists practically didn’t come. However, closed borders and domestic tourism subsidization drawn attention to holidays on Baikal for tourists from the western part of Russia, who had before chosen recreation abroad and during the pandemic didn’t cancel trips, but to change the geography of their holidays. Besides air travel, a significant proportion of tourists used personal cars to arrive at their holiday destination. It was established that the pandemic the tourist age ratios has changed in the rejuvenation direction. In the course of the opinion poll, tourists noted the high landscape aesthetic appeal of recreation areas, but the recreational infrastructure, in their opinion, isn’t sufficiently prepared for quality recreation. The results will be forwarded to the Slyudyansky district administration for adjusting measures related to the development of recreational infrastructure.