Recommendations for the development of mountain tourism in terms of the region characteristics
Authors:   Admiral F.F. Ushakov State Maritime University, Botnaryuk Marina , Klassovskaya Maria ,   Admiral F.F. Ushakov State Maritime University
Published: May 2024

Introduction. Currently, one of the most popular destinations among tourists is mountain tourism. Moreover the territory of the North Caucasus is of particular interest due to its unique landscape, the presence of mineral springs and other natural resources, as well as cultural attractions. Considering the rich tourism potential of this region, ethno-cultural, rural, environmental and adventure tourism is successfully developing. As a separate relatively new direction, we will highlight geological tourism, in which travelers not only enjoy nature, but also gain new knowledge about the structure of the Earth, study the relief, rocks, soil and vegetation. The mountainous terrain promotes the active development of rock climbing and the hikes’ organization with various levels of difficulty. Thus, today the North Caucasus is open to the tourism’s development of various types and deservedly enjoys increased demand for tourism services. However its potential is not fully exploited. The issues of transport infrastructure and tourist awareness about attractions and constantly updated routes have not been sufficiently developed. This is especially true for spontaneous tourists who prefer to act independently. Materials and methods. When conducting the research, general logical methods, a systematic approach, and content analysis of scientific literature on the issues under study were used. In order to study individual issues in more detail, a survey was conducted. A total of 279 respondents were interviewed. The questionnaire was sent out through the digital tool “Yandex.Forms” and includes answers from respondents living in the Central, Northwestern, Southern, Volga and Ural federal districts. Results. The North Caucasus is considered one of the popular tourist regions, attracting a significant number of tourists for many decades, not only our compatriots, but also travelers from all over the world. Of particular interest is the tourism and recreational potential of the Republic of North Ossetia-Alania, which is rich in natural resources and cultural and historical heritage. The study revealed interest in solving the issue of further strengthening the tourism potential of the region on the part of not only the main participants, which are buyers and services’ sellers, but also representatives of the local administration and the state. For example, the Strategy for the development of tourism in the North Caucasus federal district until 2035 involves the formation of measures to ensure the tourists’ safety and the operation of tourist infrastructure, and improve the services’ quality. The results of the survey made it possible to determine that, in modern realities, many tourists prefer to organize their holidays on their own. It has also been established that a significant part of these tourists are young people under the age of 20. Discussion. Analysis of the data obtained by the authors during desk and field research allowed us to determine that one of the ways to increase the region’s attractiveness for tourists, especially spontaneous ones, is the task of timely informing them about new attractions and routes. This task must be solved comprehensively, through the interaction of state regulatory authorities, local authorities and travel companies. To do this, when assessing the natural and recreational resources of the region, it is recommended to calculate the integral indicator taking into account constantly updated operational data. Conclusions. The authors draw the following conclusion. In order to ensure the safety of tourists and increase the attractiveness of the region, it is necessary to develop an information resource that displays the maximum number of attractions in the North Caucasus, which will contribute to the construction of optimal and also the most interesting routes. It is proposed to create and place in the public domain an interactive map that will allow receiving constantly updated data, which will increase the interest of potential travelers and ensure the full disclosure of the potential for a particular region. Resume. In order to promote the region on the tourism services market in the era of the development of information technology and youth activity, we consider it advisable to provide access to tourist sites online, which will attract an additional flow of visitors. The interactive map must include the location of cultural and historical monuments, as well as types of tourism implemented in a certain area. Suggestions for practical applications and future research directions. The proposed recommendations will make it possible to regulate tourist flows, increasing the attractiveness of the region, and provide such services at a level that best satisfies the needs of modern society.