Methodological approach to assessing the tourist and recreational potential of national parks in the Far Eastern Federal District

• Суржиков Виктор Иванович

  Viktor I. Surzhikov. Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service. Vladivostok. Russia

• V. D. Kravchenko

  Valeria D. Kravchenko. Vladivostok State University of Economics and Service. Vladivostok. Russia

Every year, tourist and recreational services of specially protected natural areas become more in demand. However, not all specially protected natural areas equally effectively use their tourist and recrea-ional potential. The purpose of the scientific work is to assess the tourist and recreational potential of
national parks on the example of the Far Eastern Federal District. The methodological basis of the work was an assessment of the tourist and recreational potential adapted by the authors using the methods of comparative analysis, classification, statistical, balance. The paper focuses on adapting the methodology for assessing the tourist and recreational potential, selecting fifty-two indicators combined into six blocks: natural, cultural-historical, socio-economic, tourist block, as well as blocks of adverse factors and the environmental situation. Data were collected according to the selected criteria and an assessment of the tourist and recreational potential of thirteen national parks of the Far Eastern Federal District was carried out. Five national parks have been identified with high potential, four with medium potential, and four with low potential. For national parks with medium and low tourist and recreational potential, the assessment made it possible to identify a number of problems affecting the tourism development system. The results obtained may be of practical importance for the heads of federal state budgetary institutions that manage specially protected natural areas.
Keywords: tourist and recreational potential, assessment, national park, Far Eastern Federal District.