Limitations of social partnership between authorities and business in forming tourist attractiveness of municipalities of the Russian Federation

Social partnership between authorities and business is a strategic factor of a territory’s socio-economic development and increase of the level of competitiveness among local tourist products and services. The purpose of the study is to identify the key limitations in the formation of social partnership between government and business in the context of solving the issues of developing the tourist attractiveness of municipalities of the Russian Federation. The authors used general scientific research methods (generalization, systematization, etc.) and analytical procedures based on comparative and system analysis methods. The key method was a questionnaire survey of experts - heads of municipalities (N = 306). The study was conducted in 2019. As a result of the survey, we identified the key problems of implementing social partnership projects in the tourism sector that do not allow local authorities to form sustainable interaction strategies with business: lack of interest among business, unfavorable investment climate, lack of efficient support for projects in mass media, etc. The authors justified the expediency of using municipal property on the principles of the cooperation economy as a tool for the developmentof social partnership in the tourism area. By summarizing successful practices of business participation in the development of municipal tourism and analyzing the survey results, we developed the areas for improving activities of local authorities to create conditions for the formation of tourist attractiveness based on social partnership (creation of museum and tourist clusters, branding of the territory, active informational support and popularization of tourist destinations in mass media, organization of project offices for tourism development, etc.). The authors conclude that the institutional environment for the development of social partnership in the tourism area is currently at the formation stage. It requires further study.