Aesthetic potential of Cisbaikalia landscapes as a factor of tourism development

The study and evaluation of the landscapes aesthetic properties as a unique and scarce natural resource is relevant for the central ecological zone of the Baikal Region (CEZ BR) from the standpoint of organizing tourist and recreational activities, management rules formulation and fixing them at the legislative level. The article describes aesthetic qualities of the landscapes of the CEZ BR. The method of studying the landscapes’ aesthetic qualities is based on studying the relationship between the view points and the landscape composition, depending on the geographic location. The analysis of the spatial organization of geosystems and the relief features of the territory reflects the landscape conditions of the view points, the features of the landscape view (the main objects of perception, geotopological relief lines) and the depth of the landscape perspective in terms of the formation of conditions for the perception and structure of landscapes. The analysis of the locations attainability is conducted with the aim of forming a conception of the possibility of tourism development in a mountainous area with different landscape and aesthetic qualities. The author creates the map of aesthetic qualities of landscapes and forecast map of the development of tourist activity. The polygons of the landscape-typological map, which are homogeneous view points in relief and vegetation cover, form the cartographic basis for the mapping. The tourism and recreation development within the CEZ of the BR should go in the direction of cognitive tourism, based on the principle of «collaboration with nature» and strictly limiting the architectural organization of residential and tourism areas.