Frontier of mountain communities in the North Caucasus and problems of tourism development: challenges and risks

The article analyzes the concept of frontier in relation to mountain communities, considers the attitude of local citizens to the development of tourism in the territory of their residence, in this context the reasoning about “risk societies” is given. As part of the present study, the concept of frontier is interpreted primarily as a natural boundary between mountainous and plain territories, which causes the emergence of certain value systems in them and creates symbolic discourses between different parts of the same entity. It is emphasized that in the Alaniya National Park it is necessary to plan, first of all, the development of ecotourism. However, this process is hampered by a number of problems, including: the lack of economic incentives for the industry development; the acute shortage of qualified specialists in the field of ecological tourism; insufficient infrastructure necessary for its development; seizure of land for individual construction, which leads to a violation of the ecological and socio-cultural balance in these areas. The necessity of taking into account these factors in the development of tourism development programs in the region is emphasized.