Problems and prospects of involvement of symbolic resources in tourism (the case of perm Kray)

The article analyses aspects of the development of human and cultural geography and the concepts of «geographic image of a territory» and «cultural landscape». From the point of view of modern tourist requirements it is necessary to allocate along with the natural and historical-cultural the symbolic resources of tourism. The author agrees with experts that offer productive symbiosis of geography and mythogeography when such studies are part of humanitarian-geo- graphical and cultural developments. The study of spatial representations produced by them, and geographical images and any other interpretations of the space, is of great interest in applied key. Based on the structural-semiotic approach the legend can be considered as an ancient symbolic form, so the myths of a particular area are not only a basic part of the symbolic resources, but also access to the group of potential customers in tourism. Legends of specific places, is the basis for the emergence of tourist motive and trip. Popular tourism legend or myth, used in socio-cultural design, is often superior to the real tourist attractiveness of the territory, with the prospects of regional image and brand. Involving the legends in tourism, in turn, are encouraged to consider as the practical direction of cultural geography and an effective marketing mechanism for the tourism development of a territory, its image and way to attract potential consumers, who perceive geographical space as the images of various degrees of subjectivity. Using the example of Perm region the author demonstrates the problems and prospects of involvement of symbolic resources in regional tourism, in which myths and legends play an important role.