Regional brand as a development option for major and minor urban settlements

The article is devoted to an analysis of the current state and development prospects of tourism in major and minor urban settlements in the Russian Federation. According to the authors, an effective implementation of events aimed at their image potential promotion encourages the socio-economic development of the areas under consideration. The authors identify the immediate prerequisites for tourism development and provide an analysis of the key factors which constrain the development of domestic and in-bound tourism in Russian cities and towns. In the article, the authors pay special attention to the concerted action of the state, cities/towns, the business sector and society to arrange for the conditions and to design the mechanisms which will ensure the planned development of the tourist industry in Russian cities and towns at an ever increasing pace.