Место издания:National Association for Interdisciplinary Activities in the Field of Heritage and Tourism Zagreb, Croatia
Первая страница:74
Последняя страница:75
Аннотация:Despite vast areas and moderate number of tourists, some destinations in Russia have already been challenged by overtourism. Suzdal, a small historical town in central Russia, is one of the first to face it. Having well-preserved medieval heritage (with four properties on the World Heritage List), cultural landscape and traditional local lifestyle, Suzdal is the 'pearl' of the famous Golden Ring of Russia. In recent years, the problems caused by overtourism have acquired particularly complicated forms on the rise of event activities in the town which has less than 10 thousand people. 1.5-1.7 million tourist arrivals annually cause the growing pressure on the host community and local residents' confrontation with visitors. There is a danger of the loss of cultural identity and destination authenticity. As a result, it may reduce the major value of tourism experience.
The aim of the research is to form an integrated approach to solving overtourism problems in small historical towns like Suzdal. Single measures on deconcentration of tourist flows during events, diversification of tourist routes and efforts to increase the contribution of tourism to the local economy do not give the desired effect, as they do not form a system. The new step in solving overtourism problems requires spatial and physical planning of the territory and its infrastructure. Suzdal urban development projects should provide the new route network within the protected areas, the use of neglected buildings and vacant spaces in order to preserve its historical and natural landscape and reduce anthropogenic pressure. They should help to expand the range of stakeholders and support active community involvement to contribute to sustainable management of tourism and heritage in the town. The research is based on field studies, projects monitoring and evaluation, statistics survey added by semi-structured in-depth interviews with tourism experts and regional stakeholders.