Social construction of tourism attractiveness of the Russian cities

Abstract

The subject of this research is the Russian experience of social construction of tourism attractiveness of the territories. The object of this research is the practices of participation of the local residents in designing tourist destinations; advantages and consequences of the conversion of social capital of the local society into job opportunities, urban infrastructure, new social relations and symbolic goods. The author meticulously examines the multiplicative effect of involvement of the local population in creating formation of tourism attractiveness of the territory; reveals the advantages and risks of initiating the process of social construction. Particular attention is given to the analysis of interdependent relations of the local citizens that ensure holistic positioning of the territory as attractive for tourists. The empirical foundation for this research includes the following cities: Moscow, Veliky Ustyug, Myshkin, and Dzhubga. The leading research method is the traditional document analysis. For verification of research results, the author applies the methods of observation and questionnaire-based online survey on the Google platform. The main conclusions consist in the theses on multiplicative effect of the involvement of local population in social construction (formation and content of the professional-structural network, development of entrepreneurship, creative clusters, etc.). The author’s main contribution into this study lies in determining the need for structuring the conceptual row (symbolic status of the city), around which would develop social interactions between the local residents. Such approach allows creating the range of interrelated tourist products or services functioning in conceptual connection with each other.