THE EFFICIENCY ASSESSMENT OF TOURISM ACTIVITY IN RUSSIA'S REGIONS

Abstract

The efficiency of tourist and recreational systems should be enhanced not so much due to increasing the tourist flow but due to the growing tourists’ expenses. The former way (extensive) leads to an uncontrolled increase in the load on natural, engineering and cultural objects and infrastructure of the regions and their further degradation. The latter way (intensive) makes it possible to increase budgetary funds of municipalities and regions, formulate environmental protection programs, develop tourist and other types of infrastructure. The article proposes a methodology that allows one not only to determine the levels, dynamics and vector of the development of tourist and recreational systems in regions based on the comparison of extensive and intensive factors, but also to assess the intensity of the systems’ activity. Over the period 2010-2017, in Russia as a whole the tourist and recreational system developed through increasing the tourist flow (which doubled) – i.e. in accordance with the extensive development path. In comparable prices, the volume of services provided within the system increased by only 17%, which is due to a decrease in the length of stay and the average daily expenses of tourists. The imposition of sanctions against Russia (following the reunification of Crimea and Russia) radically affected the factors of the regional tourist and recreational systems efficiency: the number of regions with negative dynamics of tourist spending (in comparable prices) increased by 2.8 times, from 25 units (2010−2013) to 71 units in 2017, and the number of regions with negative dynamics of the duration of stay – by 1.3 times (from 53 in 2013 to 68 units in 2017).