TOURISM AS AN APPROACH TO SUSTAINABLE RURAL DEVELOPMENT: CASE OF SOUTHERN RUSSIA

The paper’s goal is to presents contemporary approaches to understanding of sustainable development, role of tourism in assurance of sustainable rural development, and analyses the practical issues of efficient utilization of tourist and recreational potential on the example of the Caucasus Mineral Waters resort area. Methods of benchmarking analysis, SWOTanalysis and program prognosis are implemented. The major results of the current research are authors’ interpretation of regional sustainable development by means of utilization of tourist and recreational potential; conclusion that assurance of sustainable economic development promotes investment attractiveness, development of its tourist and recreational infrastructure, sanatorium, resort, engineering, technical, transport and touristic spheres. One of the most important issues of the current topic is effective preservation and rational usage of existing environmental, climatic, health and recreational resort resources of resort and rural territories.