Development of resort and tourist destinations in Caucasian mineral waters in the context of global and national tendencies

Abstract

The article describes key tendencies of the Russian tourist market development as an integral part of the global market. Special attention is paid to the Stavropol Krai tourism market, listed in the top 10 most tourism attractive regions of Russia and to the Caucasian Mineral Waters region, as the main region tourism destinations. The analysis of competitive advantages of resorts in Caucasian Mineral Waters relatively to the world's leading thermal spas reveals the regional resorts competitiveness by price. The comparative analysis indicated the high price competitiveness of services by Caucasian Mineral Waters resorts compared to foreign ones. However, even competitive regions may have very low flows of tourists because of the infrastructure inconsistency (full or partial) to the tourists' goals. The main obstacle, proved to inhibit turning the region with competitive natural and cultural characteristics into a full-fledged tourist destination, is the poor quality of accommodation, as well as the low level of development of the systematic infrastructure. Key infrastructure constraints hampering the further development of a tourist cluster in Caucasian Mineral Waters are disclosed, and recommendations for their mitigation are given.