Structure and Features of Formation of Crimean-Caucasian Black Sea Region Tourist Belt (Cases of Crimea, Krasnodar Krai and Abkhazia)

The article considers the spatial structure of the tourist belt of the Crimean-Caucasian Black Sea region. The Black Sea coast within the Republic of Crimea, federal city of Sevastopol, Krasnodar krai, and the Republic of Abkhazia is positioned as a single recreational and geographical entity with a variety of internal links and common development factors. The taxonomic hierarchy of the territorial structure of tourism is studied and the localization of tourist places, centers, zones, nodes is analyzed. Within the belt of the Crimean-Caucasian Black Sea region, well-known tourist zones have been formed based on a beach-sea profile, mountain-tourist destinations, winter recreation, and mountain-excursion specialization. The most significant localities in the territorial organization of tourism include highly developed multifunctional tourist centers—Yalta, Sevastopol, Sochi, and medium-level development centers—Yevpatoria, Anapa, Gagra, and Sukhum. The joints of tourist belts are expressed in the formation of nodes—key elements in the spatial structures of tourism. Sochi, as the dominant feature of the space under consideration, qualifies as a tourist hub. The most important factors of the consolidation of the tourist belt of the Crimean-Caucasian Black Sea region are the similarity of the structure of tourist and recreational resource potential, the commonality of geopolitical interests and demographic development trends, the similarity of the structure of the economic complex with the priority of recreation and tourism, the progressive development of transport and logistics links. The analysis of the indicators of the provision of the belt regions with collective accommodation facilities showed a significant gap in the level of recreational development of the territory. The subjects that are part of the belt are at different levels of socioeconomic development, which hinders interregional cooperation in the field of tourism. It is necessary to preserve the status of the Crimean-Caucasian Black Sea region as a priority tourist destination in the system of domestic and inbound tourism in Russia. The further integration of the tourist belt will be facilitated by the comprehensive development of recreational resources, the implementation of interregional investment projects, the development of joint tourist programs and thematic corridors, a single branding in the information space. 

1. Bachvarov M. Troubled sustainability: Bulgarian seaside resorts. Tour. Geogr., 1999, vol. 1, no. 2, pp. 192–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/14616689908721309

2. Belikov M.Yu., Volkova T.A., Mishchenko A.A., Sidorova D.V. Problems and prospects of tourism development in the South of Russia: the Republic of Crimea and the Krasnodar Krai. Geopolitika i Patrioticheskoe Vospitanie, 2016, no. 1, pp. 28–34. (In Russ.).

3. Carter R. The recreational use and abuse of the coastline of Florida. In Recreational Uses of Coastal Areas. Fabbri P., Ed. Dordrecht: Springer, 1990, pp. 3–17.

4. Dobrovol’skaya E.S. Spatial and temporal aspects of foreign tourism in the Mediterranean countries. Extended Abstract of Cand. Sci. (Geogr.) Dissertation. Moscow: Moscow State Univ., 2009. 23 p.

5. Dusenko S.V., Tolstykh O.N. Methodological foundations of the study of tourist resources of the regional recreational system. Geografiya v Shkolakh i Vuzakh Kazakhstana, 2019, vol. 88, no. 4, pp. 3–5. (In Russ.).

6. Gay J.-C., Decroly J.-M. The logic of tourism expansion throughout the world: A geohistorical approach. L’Espace Geographique, 2018, vol. 47, no. 2, pp. 102–120. https://doi.org/10.3917/eg.472.0102

7. Hall M., Page S.J. The Geography of Tourism and Recreation. Environment, Place and Space. Routledge, 2006, 3d ed. 456 p.

8. Kazalieva A.V., Minenkova V.V., Zadneprovskaya E.L. Tourist and recreational potential as a factor of sustainable development of the territorial organization of the population of the republics of the North Caucasus. In Turistsko-rekreatsionnyi kompleks v sisteme regional’nogo razvitiya. Mat. VII Mezhdunar. nauchn.-prakt. konf. [Tourist and Recreational Complex in the System of Regional Development. Mat. VII Int. Sci. Pract. Conf.]. 2019, pp. 99–102. (In Russ.).

9. Maksimov D.V., Mishchenko A.A., Mishchenko T.A. The current state of the recreational complex and its impact on the ecological situation of the Black Sea coast of the Krasnodar Krai. Izv. Vyssh. Uchebn. Zaved., Severo-Kavkazskii Reg. Ser.: Estestvennye Nauki, 2010, no. 1, pp. 106–108. (In Russ.).

10. Minenkova V.V. Potential and prospects for the development of rural and wine tourism in the Krymsky region of the Krasnodar Krai. In Agrarnaya geografiya v sovremennom mire. K 90-letnemu yubileyu Viktora Nikolayevicha Tyurina [Agrarian Geography in the Modern World. On the 90th Anniversary of Viktor Nikolaevich Tyurin]. Krasnodar, 2014, pp. 318–320. (In Russ.).

11. Minenkova V.V. Tourist clusters as a form of territorial-spatial organization of tourism in the North Caucasus region. Uch. Zap. Krym. Fed. Univ. im. V.I Vernadskogo. Geogr., Geol., 2018, vol. 4 (70), no. 2, pp. 123–131. (In Russ.).

12. On Approval of the Federal Target Program “Social and Economic Development of the Republic of Crimea and the City of Sevastopol until 2020". Resolution of the Government of the Russian Federation of August 11, 2014, no. 790. (In Russ.).

13. Parzych K.J. The Polish Baltic coast as a tourist area in the light of tourism indicators. Studia Periegetica, 2020, vol. 32, no. 4, pp. 81–87. https://doi.org/10.5604/01.3001.0014.6595

14. Regions of Russia. Socio-Economic Indicators. Moscow: Rosstat, 2019. 1244 p. Available at: https://rosstat.gov.ru/storage/mediabank/1dJJCOvT/Region_Pokaz_2019.pdf (accessed: 18.03.2021). (In Russ.).

15. Shvets A.B. Geopolitical stability and challenges of the Black Sea region. Geopolitika i Ekogeodinamika Regionov, 2018, vol. 4 (14), no. 2, pp. 19–29. (In Russ.).

16. Shvets A.B., Volkhin D.A. Crimea in the space of the South of Russia: priority formats and vectors of interregional interactions. Geopolitika i Ekogeodinamika Regionov, 2018, vol. 4 (14), no. 4, pp. 319–336. (In Russ.).

17. Tarkhov S.A. Spatial approach to tourism geography. Geogr. Vestn., 2019, no. 4 (51), pp. 172–178. https://doi.org/10.17072/2079-7877-2019-4-172-178

18. Teoreticheskie osnovy rekreatsionnoi geografii [Theoretical Principles of Recreational Geography]. Preobrazhenskii V.S., Ed. Moscow: Nauka Publ., 1975. 223 p.

19. Tishkov V.A., Dbar R. et al. Abkhazy [Abkhazians]. Moscow, 2012. 547 p.

20. Tsulaya I.V. Statistical study of the tourist market of the Republic of Abkhazia. Izv. Soch. Gos. Univ., 2013, vol. 26, no. 3, pp. 101–108. (In Russ.).

21. Tsulaya I.V. Formation of regional branding of tourist centers of the Republic of Abkhazia. Kurortno-Rekreatsionnyi Kompleks v Sist. Reg. Razvitiya: Innovatsionnye Podkhody, 2014, no. 1, pp. 271–274. (In Russ.).

22. Tsulaya I.V., Kucher M.O. Geographic points of growth of tourism in the Republic of Abkhazia. KurortnoRekreatsionnyi Kompleks v Sist. Reg. Razvitiya: Innovatsionnye Podkhody, 2017, no. 1, pp. 292–295. (In Russ.).

23. Yakovenko I.M. Competitive environment in the tourist market of the Black Sea region as a factor in the devel opment of tourism in Crimea. Uch. Zap. KFU im. V.I. Vernadskogo. Geogr. Geol., 2018, vol. 4 (70), no. 3, pp. 88–101. (In Russ.).

24. Yakovenko I.M. Tourism in the Black Sea region: new challenges. Geopolitika i Ekogeodinamika Regionov, 2018, vol. 4 (14), no 2, pp. 81–95. (In Russ.).

25. Yakovenko I.M. The functional structure of the recreational areas of Crimea: the spatio-temporal aspect. Geopolitika i Ekogeodinamika Regionov, 2021, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 26–37. (In Russ.).

26. Yarosh A.M., Soldatchenko S.S., Korshunov Yu.P. et al. Sravnitel’naya mediko-klimatologicheskaya kharakteristika osnovnykh primorskikh kurortnykh mestnostei Evropy i prilegayushchikh k nei regionov Azii i Afriki [Comparative Medical and Climatological Characteristics of the Main Coastal Resort Areas of Europe and the Adjacent Regions of Asia and Africa]. Simferopol: Sonat Publ., 2000. 136 p.

27. Zyryanov A.I. Place formula. Reg. Issled., 2013, no. 2 (40), pp. 20–24. (In Russ.).

28. Zyryanov A.I. Systematization of tourist classification units. Vestn. Mosk. Univ., Ser. 5: Geogr., 2014, no. 3, pp. 16–22. (In Russ.).

29. Zyrianov A.I. Profile tourist destinations. Vestn. SPbGU. Nauki o Zemle., 2017, vol. 62, no. 3, pp. 254–265. (In Russ.). https://doi.org/10.21638/11701/spbu07.2017.303