In today's conditions of global social crisis, ever-accelerating pace of life and constant information impact, the study of domestic tourism, one of the components of which is rural tourism, is particularly relevant. The article examines modern approaches to the study of tourism and its role in the socio-economic development of rural areas in Russia, with a focus on exploring tourism practices in rural settings through the TAP (tourism as practice) approach. Currently, traditional agrarian practices in rural areas are shifting toward post-agrarian ones, and rural tourism appears to be one of the key elements of sustainable development in rural territories. Using data collected in August 2024 in the Gorodets district of the Nizhny Novgorod region, the study analyzes three cases: event tourism at the Russian Stove Festival, agritourism at the Kurtsevo Cheese Factory, and ecotourism on the Koporye Ecological Trail. The research demonstrates how tourism practices are shaped through network interactions among various actors, including people, animals, and objects. Event tourism is shown as an integration of gastronomic, ethnographic, and educational elements, fostering the engagement of tourists and local residents in the economic and cultural development of the region. Agritourism at the Kurtsevo Cheese Factory illustrates how interaction with tourists motivates businesses to adapt their activities, creating new tourism practices. Ecotourism, as exemplified by the Koporye Trail, highlights unique nature-related experiences and interactions between tourists and non-human actors, forming a demand for authentic impressions. The article emphasizes the advantages of rural tourism, such as the ability to meet multiple tourist motivations simultaneously, job creation, infrastructure development, and increased demand for environmentally friendly products, etc. It also identifies challenges, including the low adaptation of infrastructure to growing tourist flows and the limitations of certain practices. Based on the analysis, the conclusion is made about the significant potential of rural tourism as a driver of the socio-economic development of rural areas, its high demand among tourists, and the need for further study of this phenomenon.
In today's conditions of global social crisis, ever-accelerating pace of life and constant information impact, the study of domestic tourism, one of the components of which is rural tourism, is particularly relevant. The article examines modern approaches to the study of tourism and its role in the socio-economic development of rural areas in Russia, with a focus on exploring tourism practices in rural settings through the TAP (tourism as practice) approach. Currently, traditional agrarian practices in rural areas are shifting toward post-agrarian ones, and rural tourism appears to be one of the key elements of sustainable development in rural territories. Using data collected in August 2024 in the Gorodets district of the Nizhny Novgorod region, the study analyzes three cases: event tourism at the Russian Stove Festival, agritourism at the Kurtsevo Cheese Factory, and ecotourism on the Koporye Ecological Trail. The research demonstrates how tourism practices are shaped through network interactions among various actors, including people, animals, and objects. Event tourism is shown as an integration of gastronomic, ethnographic, and educational elements, fostering the engagement of tourists and local residents in the economic and cultural development of the region. Agritourism at the Kurtsevo Cheese Factory illustrates how interaction with tourists motivates businesses to adapt their activities, creating new tourism practices. Ecotourism, as exemplified by the Koporye Trail, highlights unique nature-related experiences and interactions between tourists and non-human actors, forming a demand for authentic impressions. The article emphasizes the advantages of rural tourism, such as the ability to meet multiple tourist motivations simultaneously, job creation, infrastructure development, and increased demand for environmentally friendly products, etc. It also identifies challenges, including the low adaptation of infrastructure to growing tourist flows and the limitations of certain practices. Based on the analysis, the conclusion is made about the significant potential of rural tourism as a driver of the socio-economic development of rural areas, its high demand among tourists, and the need for further study of this phenomenon.
The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation grant No. 24-68-00055 “From the past to the future: rural communities in the context of the post-agrarian vector of transformations” for 2024-2028.