Tourism development in the world’s largest historical cities

The article is focused on analyzing peculiarities of tourism development in the world’s largest historical cities as well as studying and classifying their main tourist resources. The authors define the essence of urban tourism, describe the features of urban tourism development in the world’s largest historical cities, and disclose the specific components of urban tourism. The article offers the world’s leading historical cities rating. The fundamentals of scientific dialectics are the methodological base of the research. The basic methods of research are: comparative geographical analysis, statistical analysis, descriptive analysis, point-based estimation (numerical score) system, analytical method, literary method. Scientific novelty consists in analysis of perceptual characteristics of the world’s largest historical cities through the eyes of tourists. This investigation is an important part of perceptual analysis of the world’s largest historical cities. The results of this investigation will contribute to the development of different components of touristic cognitive perception of urban area and will also provide the processes of spiritual, mental, economic, social and organizational convergence of modulargrinded, functionally and structurally separated urban areas.