Features of the geography of Michelin restaurants

The rapid development of gastronomic tourism in the world is of increasing interest in the study of its structure and features, manifested in a particular tourist destination. The lack of articles on restaurant tourism as one of the areas of gastronomic tourism and, especially, restaurants included in the Michelin Red Guide, determined the choice of the research topic. The article is devoted to the actual features of the geography of Michelin restaurants. In modern conditions, when an important motive for tourist trips is getting impressions, catering enterprises become a significant factor in choosing not only the direction of the trip, but also the tourist route itself. At the same time, restaurants included in the Michelin rating have a competitive advantage. The restaurants included in the Guide are a place of attraction for gourmets and gourmets. This is a sign of quality for them, and, therefore, restaurants act as a tourist resource included in the tourist product. Many tourists deliberately travel to countries where there are Michelin-starred restaurants for the purpose of visiting them. The article discusses the main features of the placement of Michelin restaurants, both included in the rating and awarded Michelin stars, by UNWTO tourist macro-regions. The authors of the article draw attention to territorial disproportions in the number of restaurants and their star rating. Based on a comparative analysis, subregions and countries located at different poles in terms of the availability of Michelin restaurants were identified. The peculiarities of the geography of Michelin restaurants revealed by the authors make it possible to form tourist products taking into account their location.