On some issues of legal regulation of the development of rural tourism (agrotourism)

The study deals with the development of rural tourism (agrotourism), which is becoming more and more popular today, as it incorporates much of vacationers’ interests, namely: the unity with nature, the availability of natural products, obtaining new knowledge about cultural and historical features of visited territory. A set of these opportunities helps modern people to organize their leisure time in a new way, to get what is missing in urban environment. Gastronomic tourism or acquaintance with national cuisine and drinks, medical and health improving tourism, event tourism i.e. devoted to certain dates and festivals, ecological tourism (ecotourism, green tourism), craft, cultural and ethnographic tourism are distinguished in the types of rural tourism granting guest houses (agrohotels agroestates). The development of rural tourism is impossible without the initiative and economically active assistance of the state in its development. Comparative legal analysis confirms that rural tourism has a long story of its development and has about two hundred years of its formation and functioning. In the world practice, there are interstate agreements on the development of rural tourism. The Russian Federation is at the beginning of the development of rural tourism. Despite the existing difficulties, and above all in terms of project financing, there are enough examples in the country when enterprising farmers have organized and offered various types of rural tourism to tourists. Taking into account the emerging environment, the Government of the Russian Federation offers the options for providing agricultural grants for the development of rural tourism. Together with the efforts of farmers, this approach will contribute to the development of agriculture.