Methodological approaches to studying niche types of tourism and their role in the tourist destinations development

The article deals with the methodological issues of researching niche (rare) types of tourism, including the study the conceptual apparatus, features and disadvantages of niche tourism. The author describes main types of niche tourism. It is noted that at present there has been an increase in the demand for tourism of special interests, which is due to both the change of generations and the trend of personification of tourist services, which fits into the paradigm of niche tourism. The key difference between niche tourism and traditional mass tourism is the uniqueness of travel goals, which is determined by the individual interest of a particular tourist or group of tourists. In addition, niche tourism is of particular importance because it satisfies the specific need of a tourist in receiving special emotional sensations, impressions, and tourist experience that cannot be obtained within the framework of a typical mass tourist product. A significant level of uniqueness of niche tourism products also has negative aspects, in particular, a niche tourism product has a higher cost compared to mass tourism products, a fairly limited target audience. The importance of forming analytical information about niche tourists based on digital Big Data technology is emphasized in order to study the previous tourist experience and forecast future tourist preferences. The article shows the directions of state support for niche tourism and its role in the development of tourist destinations.