Assessing prospects for developing tourism types in rural areas (case study of the Vologda region)

Supporting and developing the tourism industry in recent years has become a priority for local authorities and businesses. This is due to the fact that the tourism development stimulates many social spheres: catering, accommodation, entertainment, as well as their associated infrastruc ture, transportation, creates jobs and attracts investors. This problem is especially acute in rural areas, where there is low diversification of the economy and the quality of life compared to the city, which in turn leads to the extinction of villages and hamlets. The aim of the research is to assess the prospects for the development of some types of tourism in rural areas, namely ecological, rural and hunting-fishing tourism in the Vologda Region municipalities. The article singles out the municipalities with the greatest opportunities for the development of the considered types of tourism on the basis of the assessment of the tourist potential of the territory. The article reveals the changes in the level of tourism potential of these areas that occurred in the region from 2010 to 2023. The research results can be used by regional authorities to develop and implement strategies for tourism development in rural areas to increase the attractiveness and competitiveness ofmunicipalities. The information base was formed by the scientists’works on the problems of assessing the tourist potential of different territories, data of the territorial body of the Federal State Statistics Service in the Vologda Region, as well as data of the complex territorial cadastre of natural resources of the Vologda Region.