Cities of the Moscow region as centers of tourist attraction

The tourism development, based on domestic and entry consumer has recently become especially important in the modern Russian market of tourist services. It requires the development and implementation of new tourism busi-ness projects, effective implication of territories which were less involved before. As an example, there were taken the cities of the Moscow region for the study. The analysis of their tourist potential is evidence of little use in tourist activity and, despite the proximity to the most powerful tourist centre of the country as Moscow, weak representa-tion in Federal target programs. Researching tourist features of the suburban cities, the authors emphasize their undeniable advantages in comparison with other Russian cities. The first block is represented with their historical role in the formation of the Russian state. Special attention is paid to the preservation of the historical environment and the possibilities for its use in tourist programs and routes. There is discussed the conservation status of 22 “his-torical cities”. Rich cultural and historical heritage of the cities of the Moscow region has permitted to allocate the second block of advantages, giving opportunities for the development of all types of tourism. During the analysis of existing cultural heritage objects of Federal, regional and local importance there was shown their role in attracting tourist crowds. The author presents the uniqueness and significance of museums, mansions, monuments related to the military events and other attractions of the Moscow Region. Special attention is paid to the state programs of development of tourism in the Moscow region, city unions and associations whose members are cities of the Mos-cow region. Evaluated approaches to solving existing problems and prospects of the developed projects concerned n general, with increasing tourist attractiveness of the Moscow region. The article uses integrated approaches to showing perspectives of tourism development in cities of the Moscow region which indicate the necessity of a unified state strategy based on the principles of sustainable development and more effective search of innovative forms of cooperation of state and municipal authorities with the involvement of private enterprises