Yachting Tourism in the Krasnodar Territory and New Russian Regions: Problems and Prospects

Introduction. Yachting tourism is a promising type of tourism in the Russian Federation, as evidenced by the increased demand for such trips in recent years. In a number of Russian regions, the demand for domestic yachting exceeds supply, which is explained by the still existing difficulties in the development of yachting infrastructure. Recently, there has been a trend of increasing tourist interest in the marine area of the Krasnodar Territory as a promising region in the field of yachting tourism, as well as new Russian territories – Donetsk, Kherson, Zaporozhye Regions. This circumstance is due to the trend of strategic development of the Azov-Black Sea coast, namely the construction of marinas, harbor shelters, fuel stations, tourist infrastructure, etc. The yachting infrastructure under construction automatically attracts investors to the tourism sector in the hotel and restaurant sectors, beach, active types of recreation, revives the tourist potential of the territories and contributes to its economic development. Domestic science faces an important task related to the need for scientific and methodological substantiation of promising instruments for the functioning of yacht tourism, the practical implementation of which will ensure the formation of new tourist clusters integrating yacht infrastructure. This will contribute to the compliance of the yacht infrastructure of the Azov-Black Sea coast with the growth rate of tourist interest in this type of tourism, designing a base for promoting new tourist destinations. The purpose of the article is to identify the problems and to substantiate the prospects for the development of yachting tourism in the Krasnodar Territory and in the new Russian territories of the Azov-Black Sea coast due to the implementation of new investment projects on yachting infrastructure. Materials and Methods. The analysis of the attractiveness of the Krasnodar Territory and the new Russian Azov regions for the active development of yachting tourism is carried out. The analysis was based on data from yacht clubs and companies specializing in yacht maintenance, rental, sale of yacht equipment and small vessels, organization of yacht cruises: “Storm Crew”, “International Yacht Training Worldwide”, “Mediterranean Yacht Charter”; on the results of an online survey of specialists and members of yacht clubs in Gelendzhik, Anapa, Sochi, Mariupol and Berdyansk (n = 130 people, April-May 2024). Results. The concepts of yachting tourism and yachting have been clarified taking into account the existing theoretical approaches and world practice; the problems hindering the development of yachting tourism in Krasnodar region and in new Russian territories have been identified; the potential of yachting tourism for the development and promotion of regional branding has been determined; the key factors for the activation of the development of yachting tourism have been listed, which should become an impetus for its promotion at the Russian and international levels in order to give the coastal territories a special investment status. Discussion and Conclusion. In Krasnodar Territory and the new Azov region of Russia the inefficiency of yachting tourism is connected with the insufficient creation of favorable conditions for investment in the development of this sector, namely, the creation of the necessary infrastructure to satisfy the increased interest of Russians in domestic tourism by reducing the flow of people traveling abroad for the purpose of yachting. The yacht charter business is mainly carried out by small and medium enterprises with limited financial resources. Therefore, it is necessary to create well-functioning mechanisms of public-private partnership in order to invest in capital-intensive objects of yachting infrastructure, to create a professional system of training of yachting infrastructure managers, and to attract yachtsmen. The tourism sector, including yachting, in the new Azov regions of Russia will actively develop as safe and peaceful life is established in these territories. This study can be used to improve and adjust the process of modernization of the yachting industry of the regions, subjects of tourism activities and state regulation of economic development of the territories.