Potential rural tourism resources of the Mangistau region of Kazakhstan

Abstract

The development of agro-tourism in the Mangistau region is taking place in the economic and socio-cultural areas, becoming important in preservation of natural and cultural heritage. Purpose – the authors consider the current state and prospects of rural tourism in the region. Methods – the information base of the study is statistical data from the Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan, information from domestic periodicals and international literature sources. Results – analysis of the available tourism resources in rural areas of the region based on the 4E model of Joseph Pine and James Gilmore was carried out, a comparison of the demographic situation in the countryside and in the city, seasonality of tourism activities was determined, the resources of tourism industry were analyzed, and best foreign practices were shown. Shortcomings of objects of tourist agribusiness were revealed in the region. The authors point out that this type of tourist services is still underdeveloped due to numerous problems that hinder their spread, among which are the backwardness of social and engineering infrastructure of rural areas, poor quality of the road network and transport links. All this reduces the attractiveness, does not contribute to the preservation of the ecology of rural areas, makes it difficult to arrange and create the necessary conditions for accommodation of tourists. Conclusions – agro-tourism helps to strengthen the economy of rural settlements, creates additional jobs, reduces the outflow of villagers to cities, increases their cultural and intellectual level, stimulates production of environmentally friendly food, income generation due to the development of local trade. Expanding the scope of its distribution requires a systematic approach, taking into account the specifics of the region.