Issue ? 41. December 2013

Development of Regional Agritourism Programs

Dmitry A. Korolkov — Ph.D., associate professor, Faculty of Economics and Management, Smolensk Institute of Economy — a branch of the St. Petersburg University of Management and Economics.
E-mail: korolkovd@mail.ru

Galina A. Smirnova — Ph.D., associate professor, Faculty of Economics and Management, Smolensk Institute of Economy — a branch of the St. Petersburg University of Management and Economics.
E-mail: drokinairina@mail.ru

Popularization of agritourism as an organized recreational activity is one of the problems to be solved for the establishment and development of agritourism as an independent sector of tourism industry. It requires careful development of legal instruments, as well as the full support of municipal and regional authorities.

The article is devoted to the problems of development of the tourism industry and the agro sector, in the growth of which the most important element should be government development programs — specifically concerning the agritourism development.

The practical significance of the research lies in the fact that the analysis of the tourism potential of the Smolensk region was carried out; the problems and prospects of development of domestic tourism in the region were identified; the possibilities of the development of agro-tourism were examined to stimulate innovation and the development of domestic tourism, the necessity of state support of the domestic tourism was proved. Smolensk region is one of the most promising regions in Russia to invest in the development of the tourism business, especially agritourism. It’s obvious that the local government’s support won’t be sufficient for developing this type of business in the region. The task of developing tourism in general and agricultural tourism in particular as a sector of municipal economy cannot be solved at the municipal level. Consequently the solution is the development of agritourism at the regional level.

Keywords

Tourism, agritourism, regional development programs, directions, development of agritourism.