Introduction. The research of the nature and types of assessment of the current state of tourism and recreational potential of rural territories in regional activity is devoted to many works of both domestic and foreign scientists. How-ever, the issues of formation and development of tourism and recreational potential of rural territories and its structural components, taking into account the peculiarities of the region, remain insufficiently covered in scientific circles. The development of excursion services in the rural territories of the region is hampered by the weak development of market infrastructure. First of all – temporary (tourist) housing and transport. Given the thematic focus of the study, it is necessary to find out the place of rural areas in the system of spatial placement of hotels and other places for temporary residence. The purpose of this article is assessment of the current state of formation and development of tourism and recre-ational potential of rural territories of Mykolaiv region. Results. It is substantiated that the Mykolaiv region has a high level of tourist and recreational potential of its rural territories. This is evidenced by the large number of historical monuments, natural parks, artificial and natural reservoirs, estates of green (rural tourism), etc., located in rural areas in the administrative districts of the region. Conclusions. In the context of development of the tourist industry of rural territories of the Mykolaiv region, the most important component of the transport infrastructure is the size and condition of the paved roads. The lack of an extensive network of roads of regional and local importance is not the only problem of transport provision for the devel-opment of the tourist industry of the regions. No less, but perhaps a bigger problem is the condition of the road surface. Bringing to a normal state and maintaining the functional characteristics of hard paved roads will also have a positive impact on the reproduction and development of production and demographic potentials of rural territories of the Mykolaiv region. Therefore, ordering the transport infrastructure of the region should become one of the key tasks for the development of the region, the solution of which can only be achieved if the efforts of rural (settlement), district and regional authorities are united. Key words: potential, tourist services, market segment, rural areas, middle age, transport.