DEVELOPMENT OF TOURIST CLUSTERS BASED ON THE NATIONAL-CULTURAL AUTONOMIES OF KHABAROVSK KRAI

Abstract

With growing attention to the sustainable development of territories, the preservation of cultural heritage is increasingly considered not only as a social or humanitarian task but also as an important factor in long-term economic development. In this context, ethnocultural tourism holds a special place among modern spheres of tourism due to its ability to simultaneously serve several strategic goals: preserving cultural diversity, involving local communities in economic processes, creating a competitive tourist product, and increasing the stability of the regional economy. Contemporary research indicates a steady transition from a resource-based understanding of ethnocultural tourism to an institutional one. Whereas previously, the focus was on describing the tourism potential of territories, the objects of cultural heritage, and the features of traditional culture, in recent years, scientific discussion has been increasingly centered around the issues of administration, partnership, participation of local communities, and the creation of sustainable organizational development models. The present study aimed to scientifically substantiate and develop an organizational mechanism for the formation of an ethnocultural tourist cluster. In pursuit of this goal, the research process included an analysis of modern scientific approaches to the development of ethnocultural tourism, a sociological study and in-depth interviews with key participants in tourist activities, a comparative analysis of the existing ethnocultural complexes of Khabarovsk Krai, and the development of an algorithm for the operation of a stable cluster system. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the justification of an organizational mechanism for the transformation of the ethnocultural potential of the territory into a sustainable tourist cluster through the integration of institutional, cluster, and partnership approaches. Unlike existing studies, the proposed model considers the ethnocultural tourist cluster not only as a form of spatial concentration of subjects in tourist activities but also as a mechanism for coordinating the interaction of participants that ensures interconnected economic, social, and cultural results.