The role of tourism in sustainable development of Russian regions: the case of Stavropol krai

Currently sustainable development of the regions and Russia as a whole and growth of domestic tourism occur simultaneously. But intensive tourism development does not always match the sustainable development goals. Therefore, it is necessary to consider the principles of sustainable tourism established by UNWTO. The study is aimed at identifying the tourism importance in the aspect of sustainable development and determining possible methods of maintaining this process through the tourism development. The study is focused on Stavropol Krai, which is considered one of the attractive tourist destinations. The analysis of the state of tourism and approaches to its organization in the region made it possible to identify processes that do not comply with the principles of sustainable development. As a result, proposals were developed for the formation of a scientific and systematic approach to the organizing tourism in the region. The author suggests the creation of scientific communities in order to compose tourism development programs considering the principles of sustainable development. The proposed measures can be applied in other regions of the Russian Federation, which also face problems of the lack of a well-coordinated tourism system and a scientific approach to its organization.