Theory and practice of business tourism in Irkutsk: regional development of destinations

This article continues the author's researches of resources and prospects of business tourism in Irkutsk and Irkutsk region. The author states the basic theoretical and practical conclusions of the five years’ monitoring researches of business tourism market. Particular attention is paid to the geographical component as an integral part of the global factor, which specialization of a territory. Business tourism has different forms of organization: congresses, exhibitions, fairs, discussions and seminars. All participants of the events have different purposes of the visit according to their interests, capabilities and types of business. Most expressed the requirement of a mobile infrastructure to carry out the adaptation of the premises to the needs of particular organizers. According to research results, Irkutsk as a center of business tourism has great potential in this sphere of recreation. The article shows the main theoretical approaches and practical methods for determining the capacity of congress and exhibition market. The 8 main development trends of Irkutsk are identified, and the latest information about the tourist state of the city and region is presented. The city is a main transit center, where there is the distribution of tourist flows, following from west to east and back. Irkutsk also has a distinctive competitive advantage - its proximity to Lake Baikal, which certainly makes it stand out from other Russian cities. Thus, the specificity of the business tourism, considered in this article, consists in the integrated approach to satisfaction needs of tourists who travel for business purposes.