SOME ISSUES OF RECREATIONAL NATURE MANAGEMENT IN THE RUSSIAN PART OF THE AZOV AND BLACK SEA REGIONS

Abstract

Some trends have been identified in the tourism use of the European South of Russia. These include the stability of tourist flows, with the most significant flows directed to Crimea and the Krasnodar Territory, as well as the development of new coastal areas for tourism purposes. The latter is facilitated by the implementation of the "5 Seas and Lake Baikal" project for the development of domestic tourism, which has led to the creation of five new year-round resorts in the European South, attracting millions of tourists. Tourism has a positive impact on the economies of the regions, where it takes place, but it also has a negative impact on natural landscapes and often on transportation and public infrastructure, which reduces the regions' recreational potential and, consequently, their attractiveness to tourists. Measures have been proposed to minimize the negative effects of tourism. These include the need to strive for a more balanced distribution of tourist flows in space and time. To achieve this goal, it is necessary to assess the recreational potential of tourist centers and develop those with the highest potential, as well as to redirect tourist flows to regions with high recreational potential, but low level of Its using. Achieving this goal will enable the development of various types of tourism. SWOT and PEST analyses were carried out for the tourism industry of the two major seaside territories of the European South of Russia: the Azov–Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. These analyses provided a comprehensive assessment of the territories. The recreational potential was evaluated at both the local level (individual recreational sites) and the regional level (selected seaside regions of the Russian Federation). The results were compared with the number of tourists visiting the seaside regions of the European South, and the largest difference between the number of tourists and the recreational potential was identified for the Northern Azov Region. Therefore, as soon as the geopolitical situation allows, it would be logical to redirect some of the tourist flows to this region.