Children’s tourism in Volgograd oblast: current state and promising areas of development

In recent years, children's tourism has received significant support from the state, is the object of several state programs, that is why it has begun to develop intensively in many regions of the Russian Federation. The purpose of the article is a comprehensive assessment of various aspects of the organization of children's tourism in Volgograd region and the definition of the most promising types and conditions of its development in the region. The article considers the indicators characterizing the development in Volgograd region of the main direction of children's tourism - recreation in health camps: the regulatory framework, the number of children's health camps, the demand for their services, the availability of federal children's centers for Volgograd schoolchildren. The offer of children's tours in the region is also characterized: the structure and number of tour operators specializing in children's tourism, the main types, and characteristics of the developed children's tourist routes. The main events held in the region, designed for children and youth, are considered. It is shown that the most promising types of children's tourism, for which there are attractions and infrastructure in the region, are tourism with cultural and educational purposes, ecological tourism, and military-patriotic tourism. The key factors hindering the development of children's tourism in Volgograd region are identified and the actual ways of development of each type of children's tourism to form a popular and attractive tourist product are shown.