Problems and Prospects of the Development of the Sanatorium-and-Health-Resort Industry in Russia in the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic

Abstract

The sanatorium-and-health-resort industry plays an important role in the life of modern society as it performs the function of restoring the health of the population, and as a consequence of improving the welfare of the country and productivity. The sanatorium-and-health-resort industry in the Russian Federation is a special complex, the principles of which were laid down in the Soviet period. However, it can be said that the industry has developed several problems, which in some ways was aggravated by the Covid-19 pandemic. Closed borders stimulate the development of domestic tourism, and quarantine restrictions in large cities have led to the demand for suburban areas for recreation, and also led to the popularity of sanatorium-and-health-resort institutions located within them. Despite the crisis phenomena in the industry, in general, the investment attractiveness of sanatorium-and-health-resort facilities is growing. A load of health resorts during the New Year holidays is more than 80-90%, in addition, many places in the health resorts of key regions are already booked almost 100% for the upcoming holidays. Prices for sanatorium-and-health-resort services have increased significantly despite the crisis. However, it is impossible to say unequivocally that this indicates a positive trend in the development of the industry as a whole. Therefore, the article is aimed at studying the problems in the sanatorium-and-health-resort industry both in the pre-pandemic period and during the period of quarantine restrictions, identifying the factors that affect its functioning. The study of the state of the industry is based on the study of the performance indicators of health resorts at the end of 2019, as well as on the opinions of tourists, which are published in the form of reviews on different sites. Expert opinions on concerns about the prospects for the development of the industry in the post-pandemic period have also been studied, their validity and the reasons why they were justified or not have been considered.