Analysis of the Touristic Recreational Potential of a Territory as a Condition for Development of Ecological Tourism (the Southern Moscow Region Case Study)
Abstract
Background. One of the relevant trends of modern tourism development is ecological tourism, the root ideas of which are based on the provisions of environmental economics – an interdisciplinary scientific approach, widely spread at the moment, which integrates the achievements of economics, ecology and ethics. This objective of this article is to examine the conditions for the effective development of ecological tourism on the basis of the analysis of touristic and recreational potential of the territory of the Southern Moscow region and to establish its influence on the prospects of the touristic activity in the region.
Method. The main approach to examining this problem in the article is the principle of unity of ecology, economics and culture which provides an opportunity to examine the pre-requisites for recreational potential of the territory in a versatile manner. While conducting the research presented in the article methods of analysis and classification of factual information and the method of scaling for ranking the territories with different recreational potential were applied.
Findings. This article defines the notion of a recreational potential of the territory as a combination of pre-requisites for organization of recreational activity, presents a classification of recreational resources as a basis of a recreational potential, and specifies their content. The article argues that the recreational areas formation principle shall involve the dependency between the environmental value and the degree of anthropogenic impact on it: the higher the environmental value is, the less the anthropogenic interference should be, as well as the environmental protection measures defined more clearly. In order to examine the touristic and recreational potential of the Moscow region the article features the analysis of the natural recreational resources, including climatic and geographical characteristics, involving the cultural and historical ones, providing the analysis of the material base for tourism development. The article develops the criteria of touristic and recreational potential, which include the presence of natural resources, cultural and historical resources, number of facilities for tourists' catering and accommodation, availability of transport system, and places of resort, entertainment and culture. Based on these criteria the territory districts groups with similar potential and efficiency of its use are identified; conclusions on positive and negative sides of touristic and recreational potential of the study territory, as well as on the prospects of the ecological tourism, are made.
Improvements. The materials of this study have practical value for the analysis and evaluation of efficiency of the territories' use with objective of the ecological tourism development and enhancement of the region's touristic value.
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