THE DRIVERS FOR TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT OF RURAL TOURISM

The relevance of rural tourism development is due to the fact that this direction will contribute, on the one hand, to improving the socio-economic well-being of settlements (creating new jobs, increasing incomes and quality of life of the rural population), and, on the other hand, to expanding the regional tourist offer. The purpose of this investigation is to study the possibilities of developing rural areas as centers of attraction for tourists, based on the assessment of their natural potential and tourist attractiveness. In the course of the study, several key tasks were solved: the level of development of rural areas was assessed; their possible inclusion in the service of regional tourist flows was justified, taking into account the existing organizational and economic conditions; the forms of organization of rural tourism in Europe were studied and possible adaptation of foreign experience in the organization of tourist service centres was shown. During the analysis, the features of rural tourism as one of the varieties in ecological tourism were studied. Based on research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, tourists’ preferences have undergone tangible changes, the meaning of which is to increase awareness when choosing a tourist program. More and more consumers, when choosing their vacation, tend to individualize tours, paying special attention to the environmental component and the opportunity to take an active part in traditional rural activities. The paper analyzes the conditions that ensure the effective development of rural tourism, including: natural and climatic conditions, the level of infrastructure development, the possibility of involving existing tourist flows, as well as state support measures aimed at supporting entrepreneurial initiative.