Environmental tourism: problems of legal regulation

Ecotourism is becoming increasingly important for the Russian Federation, as far as it makes a real contribution to the protection of the environment and the development of territories in the long term. However, it faces a number of serious organizational and legal challenges, such as the lack of proper cooperation between participants in environmental and tourism activities, the imperfections of legal acts regulating this field, and difficulties in their implementation, which negatively affect the formation and implementation of legal norms as regulators of social relations. Consequently, all participants in the field of environmental tourism face the challenge of creating an effective system of legal regulation for ecotourism that ensures its sustainable development. However, there are challenges in defining the term “ecotourism” itself, as well as in balancing the interests of business, government, and society due to the increased involvement of protected natural sites in recreational activities. Currently, the development of ecotourism is one of the priorities within the framework of a number of ongoing federal projects and state programs of Russia. An analysis of current legislation regulating ecotourism allows us to identify existing shortcomings and formulate proposals for improving the ecotourism governance system, thereby contributing to the achievement of national development goals. In the framework of minimizing the impact on nature, it is proposed to develop environmental safety standards, create a system for monitoring impact indicators and create a network of environmental routes focused on the principles of minimal intervention.