Uniqueness of UNESCO geoparks and sites protected by public and state institutions from the point of view of geocultural branding

In this research, the authors focus on the study of territories that have a unique trade offer in terms of geocultural branding. Geocultural branding put forefront the understanding particularity and complicacy of the protected area promotion. Firstly, the pricing policy and the presence of prohibitive protective documents limit the process of engaging a business structure in the promotion process. In this regard, the authors examine the regulatory framework for protected objects in Russia, which severely restrict activities in this area. On the other hand, the geocultural branding of territories is attractive because its, so to speak, “natural” uniqueness without additional efforts of the customer of the geocultural brand, whether it is a local administration, the administration of recreational institutions or business structures interested in making a profit. If we consider geoparks and territories protected by the state as an object of geocultural branding, there are all the prerequisites for successfully promoting the image of the territory, the image of the region, depending on what task the customer sets. We believe that the geoparks of Russia, including the geoparks of the Republic of Bashkortostan, have great prospects in the future to become centers of image promotion of the region. This task has been repeatedly raised by stakeholders of geoparks with the aim of attracting investments, elevating the image of the region, raising the prestige of domestic tourism, etc.