Tourism as a direction of sustainable development of the small towns

Common problems of the small towns (demographic, economic, ecological, social, infrastructure, etc.) demand the elaboration of the special measures directed to preservation and sustainable development of these territories. Tourism can solve this problem with a support on historical and cultural heritage of small settlements. The authors analyze the publications devoted to sustainable development of small settlements and reveals that most of them are carried out by qualitative methods with involvement of experts. The small towns and settlements of Tula region are the objects of the research. Work was carried out with use of on-site investigation of the small towns (studying the objects of historical and cultural heritage, their infrastructure, holding poll of locals), poll of experts by the semi-structured interview and also by means of questionnaire of inhabitants and guests of Tula region by sample survey. The analysis of data of questioning was carried out by means of tables of a cross tabulation and by means of graphical analysis. The research results show that local cuisine is important factor of attracting tourists. The orthodox monasteries and other objects connected with a cult as well as national crafts cause great interest in tourists, especially older age groups. It was revealed that cultural and historical capacity of the small towns, but in in a greater degree transport availability and transport logistics connecting the settlement with other tourist sites and amenities in the area and the neighboring regions, impact considerably on the tourist product. Now both one-day tours and weekend tours in the small towns of Tula region are in demand. The research results can be used for elaboration of tourism development programs for the small towns. Results of the study allow forming tourist product taking into account preferences of potential consumers, revealing relevant ways for developing infrastructure of small settlements.