Specific Features of Sustainable Tourism Development in Russia

The wide dissemination of the sustainable development ideology has ensured the implementation of its principles in the field of tourism, where not only economic, but also socially significant goals are clearly and obviously pursued. Problems of intensifying domestic tourism in Russia do not lose their relevance in current geopolitical realities. Understanding the essence and content of the process of organizing domestic tourism, peculiarities of the interaction of its participants, makes it possible to assess the degree of their commitment to sustainable development ideas at all creation levels and movement stages of a tourism product on the way to a consumer. Sustainable tourism is a joint effort of both the tourists themselves and the country’s government, tourism companies, hotel and restaurant businesses, tour agencies and all other representatives of the tourism and hospitality industries, as well as the local community as a key actor in the tourist destination. The contribution clarifies a relation between concepts of sustainable, environmental and smart tourism, and systematizes factors of sustainable tourism. Current problems in the development of sustainable tourism in Russia are identified, related to the environmental pollution, the violation of landscape aesthetics, damage to historical and natural monuments, increased anthropogenic load on the regions that are most popular among the Russian citizens, excessive commercialization of the tourism sector, and an insufficiently developed inclusive environment. Based on the study of the best world practices, directions for a comprehensive solution to the problem of sustainable tourism at various levels have been identified.