Tourism development index of Russian regions

The purpose of the study is to develop an index that allows assessing the dynamics and uneven development of regional tourism. Tourism is influenced by various factors, the consideration of which requires quantitative assessments. In the article, such estimates were obtained through the construction and testing of the author’s generalizing indicator - the tourism development index of Russian regions. A brief review of modern research in the field of using the index method in analyzing the competitiveness of the tourism industry in different countries and the influence of climatic conditions on it is made. The practical part of the work is based on an extensive empirical base. For 2013-2022 statistical information reflecting the dynamics of regional tourism in the Russian Federation was collected. On this basis, groups of statistical indicators were formed that were used to construct the index. The methodology for its calculation consisted of standardizing the initial indicators measuring various aspects of tourism development and their subsequent aggregation into a single general indicator. The results of the author's index calculations in the context of federal districts and subjects of the Russian Federation allowed us to conclude that the distribution of tourism resources and infrastructure between Russian regions is uneven. Differences in index estimates for leading regions and outsider regions indicate a high concentration of tourist activity only in a limited circle of Russian regions. In addition, Russian regions were ranked according to the level of tourism development based on the calculated values of the author's index. It is concluded that the resulting rating is similar to the national tourism rating, but differs significantly from the sustainability of tourism and hospitality industry development ranking.