Methodological guidelines for state policy making in rural tourism at the regional level

The article presents the main principles of methodological guidelines for state policy making in rural tourism at the regional level. Nowadays social and economic development as well as tourism and recreational potential capacity of each Russian region is quite specific. This helps us to distinguish the unique features of a certain region, which may become a base for competitive advantage in creation and distribution of travel product. There are also efficient mechanisms of promoting entrepreneurial initiative in rural tourism. Tourism at large is of integrated nature and rural tourism is highly depended on the level of agricultural development, social and economic issues of rural area development. The author describes the scheme of division of jurisdiction in rural tourism development between the regional government executive bodies. The above-mentioned scheme is based on a database of policy papers on rural tourism development including development concept, strategy and programme as well as special regulatory and legal framework for rural tourism development also on quality, taxation, etc. At the same time, it is necessary to create sustainable and efficient mechanisms of interdepartmental interaction and involve cross-sectoral integration processes, which connect rural tourism to various sectors and activities.