Problems and prospects for the development of domestic tourism in Russia

Aim. This paper aims to identify the tourist preferences of respondents from Chelyabinsk and the Chelyabinsk region and evaluate prospects for the development of domestic tourism. Materials and methods. This study is based on the sociological and general methods of science, along with statistical processing of the results obtained. Tourist preferences were studied in August-October 2022. The study involved a representative survey of the population in Chelyabinsk and the Chelyabinsk region (ages 18-70) with a questionnaire. The total population involved 910 000 people, and the sample consisted of 384 people with a 95% confidence interval and a 5% absolute error. Results. The study of tourist preferences allowed the authors to identify the most preferable types of tourism and tourist areas considered potentially attractive for generating tourist flow. The majority of respondents preferred to spend their holidays in Russia. The main types of tourism are cultural tourism, event tourism, and weekend tourism. Rural and industrial tourism attract the least people. Traditionally, respondents visit cultural heritage sites (Moscow and Saint-Petersburg) and resorts (mostly sea resorts, including Sochi and the Krasnodar Krai). Baikal, Altai, Kaliningrad, Kamchatka, and Crimea are considered prospective tourist destinations. The positive factors that influence the choice of tourist destinations include unique sites, natural monuments, resort activities, atmosphere, and impressions, while the negative ones include the quality of service, climate, pricing policy, and the quality of infrastructure. Conclusion. The study allowed the authors to draw conclusions about the current status and growth prospects of domestic tourism. However, according to respondents, its further growth is associated with the development of infrastructure, the transport system, hotels, the quality of services, changes in pricing policy, and investment attractiveness.