Development Problems of the North Caucasus Recreational and Tourist Cluster in Russia
The purpose of this contribution is to identify factors that impede the development of the recreational and tourist cluster of the North Caucasus in Russia. In recent years, the direction of tourist flows has changed significantly both from Russia and to Russia. The international tourism of Russians is declining with the simultaneous increase in the flow of domestic tourism. There is a need to expand the network of recreational and tourism facilities, to increase the range of services provided and improve their quality. The following results were obtained during the study: 1. The North Caucasus region of Russia is the most promising in the country for the development of recreation and tourism due to unique natural conditions, extensive experience in providing spa services and a sufficiently developed infrastructure. 2. The first development problem of the recreational and tourist cluster in the North Caucasus is the unresolved issue with the financing of the project. The existing programs for the regional development stipulate that 75% of the funding will be provided from regional budgets. Depressive regions, such as the constituent entities of the Russian Federation that are part of the North Caucasus Federal District, are not able to provide the level of financing necessary for a large-scale development of recreational and tourist zones. 3. The second development problem is complex confidential relations and the moral climate in the clustered association. The efficiency of a clustered association is based on decency and trust between cluster members, which is possible only when all participants can receive real economic benefits from integration. No one will develop other companies to the detriment of own interests. 4. The third development problem is a weak methodological reinforcement of new association activities. 5. The fourth development problem is the pronounced seasonal character of tourist activity characteristic for the given region of the country. The “dead” seasons of the North Caucasian resorts do not allow fully using the opportunities of the already created infrastructure, and lead to uneven employment of the population and are the cause of the unsustainable financial condition of resort organizations. A possible way to solve existing development problems is to develop a specialized state corporation for the Development of Recreational and Tourist Resorts in the North Caucasus, which must be provided with a state package of benefits and preferences. A number of privileges are offered, which are advisable to be provided by a new state corporation.