Ensuring the Development of Tourism in the Regions of the Russian Federation, with Account of the Tourism Infrastructure Factors

Background: The article substantiates the necessity to develop the tourist market as a factor of the economic growth in the Russian regions. In this regard, the study is aimed at determining the factors that ensure the development of the regional tourism market with regard to the level of efficiency of its functioning. Method: To achieve the research objectives through the use of cluster analysis the regions of the Russian Federation (RF) have been differentiated according to the level of functional effectiveness of the tourism market at the current stage of development. The level of the tourism infrastructure development in the region has become a feature of clusterization. Using the method of principal components the impact of tourism infrastructure factors on the effectiveness of the tourism market functioning in the regions has been evaluated in the quantitative terms. The fundamental factors have been identified that determine the tourism market development in the regions taking into account the level of its functional effectiveness in the modern context. Findings: The study presents a new approach to providing development of the regional tourism market. In contrast to the modern concepts of evaluating the effectiveness of the regional tourism industry, this approach allows grouping the RF regions by the level of the tourist infrastructure effectiveness to identify the common factors of the tourism market development. The advantage of the proposed approach as to the conventional theory of the tourism development is in determining the priority of influence exerted by the primary system of the regional tourism infrastructure factors that ensures the tourism market development in view of its effectiveness in modern conditions. It enables to determine that investment and innovation factor is a basic component of tourism development in the regions with a high level of the tourism infrastructure effectiveness. The efficiency of the transport network, innovative activity, the level of investment attractiveness and provision of the fixed assets reproduction conditions the intensity of tourism development in the regions with an average level of tourism infrastructure effectiveness. The expansion of transport infrastructure, strengthening of public financing and capital asset renewal are the primary factors for ensuring the tourism market development in the regions with the low efficient tourism industry. The obtained results contribute to the optimization of the regional policy in improving the efficiency of tourism as a factor of economic development of the region. The article utilizes subjectivism and pragmatism of the qualitative approaches in the justification of areas in tourism development. Improvements: The presented approach determines the primary factors of the tourist market development, which can serve as a guide in the process of formation and implementation of the regional tourism policy. It can be used to design a long term strategy for the development of the regional tourism market.