Eco-tourism and socio-economic development of rural areas

The authors presented a theoretical review of research by foreign scientists on the topic of ecotourism, aimed at clarifying the theoretical aspects of its impact on the economy of rural areas and the social sphere.

The goal is to form the author’s vision of the socio-economic impact of agritourism on the sustainability of rural areas.

To achieve the goal, methods of dialectical, abstract-logical, comparative and content analysis were used.

Results – scientific discussions and exchange of opinions of scientists made it possible to identify the following positive economic features of the development of ecotourism: the formation of the country's GDP, growth in gross added value, increase in foreign exchange earnings, diversification of the rural economy, strengthening of relationships between industries, expansion of markets for local goods and services, modernization of infrastructure, increase employment. Among the social characteristics, one can note the creation of jobs, an increase in the income and well-being of rural residents, the development of social infrastructure and the improvement of rural settlements, improving the quality of labor resources, improving the health of the population of the republic, reconciling the interests of the local community with the interests of the state and business structures, reducing gender inequality, preventing the outflow of people living in rural areas and guaranteeing social stability. In addition, the authors supplemented the effects of rural tourism with an impact on the environment, expressed in changing the situation of villagers, protecting and renewing natural resources and biodiversity, preserving and restoring cultural and historical monuments, observing national traditions, customs, folklore, as well as maintaining traditional forms of economic management.

Conclusions – based on the detailed indicators of each component of ecotourism, its impact on the living standard in rural areas is substantiated.

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