Methodological basis of zoning of tourism-recreation reserves and tourism potential of Gusar region of the Republic of Azerbaijan

In modern times, the potential opportunities of the regions are studied using different methodological approaches to achieve sustainable socio-economic development, and zoning is carried out in different directions to stimulate their future activities. The zoning is based on the demand for available resources and takes into account the level of socio-economic development of the region. At present, the study of tourism in the Republic of Azerbaijan by regions is encouraging attention due to its relevance. However, research work on the identification of tourism zones in the country and the zoning of these areas is weak. From this point of view, the article studies the tourism potential of Gusar region and provides a scheme for its tourismrecreation zoning which meets present-day requirements and attracts attention due to its relevance. The article analyses the development strategy of tourism, which is a new and promising field in the Republic of Azerbaijan, identifies the main directions of this strategy, and explores ways to solve existing problems. For this purpose, first, the criteria for zoning of tourism and recreation resources were determined; then natural and anthropogenic tourism resources were assessed through the example of Gusar region; information on natural and historical-architectural monuments of interest to tourists was provided; the number of hotels operating in the region over the past five years, the number of rooms, full hotel capacity and overnight stays, as well as the income, expenses, and the difference between them were made on the basis of statistical and comparative analysis. Based on the information obtained, for the first time, a “Zoning Map of Tourism and Recreation Resources of Gusar Region” was compiled; the strengths and weaknesses of the tourism sector were identified, and future threats and opportunities for the development of this sector were analysed by means of the SWOT analysis. According to the analysis, the strengths of the region included the favourable economic and geographical position, the availability of unique natural and historical-architectural monuments, the availability of natural and ecological conditions to provide recreation for tourists, and opportunities for ecological, rural, religious, trekking, and other tourism types, etc. Weaknesses included the concentration of hotels mainly in the region’s centre, insufficient promotion of tourist attractions, poor level of service and vocational training, lack of guides, etc. The opportunities were high tourism potential, organisation and development of local tourist routes, an abundance of labour resources, etc., while the threats included the aggravation of the geopolitical situation in the border areas, the intensification of natural disasters, etc.

Recreation Resources In Jizzakh Region And Their Description

The article describes the conceptual directions of improving the quality of services in eco-tourism and the scientific, theoretical and methodological issues of its evaluation. It describes the factors influencing the quality of tourism services, the specifics of hotel services, the system of indicators that reflect the quality of service in eco-tourism, the content and ways to identify them.

Brotherly Love

This chapter begins with detailing the argument of Peter S. Paine Jr. with Laurance S. Rockefeller, the younger brother and closest friend of New York State Governor Nelson Rockefeller. It presents Paine's criticisms on a proposal Laurance made to turn the core of the Adirondack State Park into a national park. Both Paine Jr. and Laurance Rockefeller considered themselves environmentalists. But neither man belonged to the Association for the Protection of the Adirondack (AfPA). The chapter states that the Rockefeller family directed its giving toward several long-term goals, and one of them was improving public access to parks and open space. It then shifts to outline how Rockefeller's bond acts became major steps forward for the environmental movement and paved the way for federal legislation like the Land and Water Conservation Fund (passed in 1965), the Clean Air Act of 1970, and the Clean Water Act of 1972. Ultimately, the chapter investigates how Laurence persuaded his brother, Nelson to appoint a task force to study the future of the Adirondacks, modeled on the Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission (ORRRC), and see if they could maximize the “effective acres” of the Adirondacks through other means.

Tourism Education in Azerbaijan: Current Situation, Problems and Solutions

Tourism has been chosen as one of the priority areas among non-oil sectors. Although there are prerequisites for the development of tourism in a country with rich natural and historical-cultural recreation resources, the use of the country's rich tourism potential is not sufficient. One of the reasons why tourism cannot achieve any result is the problems of tourism education. This problem is also delaying the transition to the sustainable development of tourism. These reasons make it necessary to carry out research on tourism education, identify and solve problems. Some issues related to tourism education have been touched upon in the Strategic Roadmap for Tourism Development, tourism-related programs, and some tourism textbooks, and highlighted the importance of solving the problem. Almost all tourism education institutions and most of the qualified cadres in tourism are concentrated in the capital Baku and other major cities. This indicates that there is an inequality in the location of skilled cadres in the field of tourism, and according to these figures, the regions are far behind the major cities like Baku, Ganja, and Sumgait. Investigation of tourism education requires comprehensive and systematic analysis. Statistical analysis, comparative analysis, and SWOT analysis methods have been used in this article, which examines the problems of tourism education in Azerbaijan. If problems on tourism education are solved, it will be possible to make better use of the country's recreational potential and improve the quality of tourism services. The problem of tourism education is to increase the number of enterprises providing tourist education, to study and apply the experience of developed countries, to strengthen the staff in the tourism education institutions, to introduce innovative methods of teaching, to improve the quality of textbooks, to enhance tourism education in the regions, and to provide internship opportunities for students and young researchers to meet their needs.

THE AUTONOMOUS REPUBLIC OF ADJARA (BASED ON THE EXAMPLE OF GODERDZI SKI RESORT)

In the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, the establishment of ski resort on Goderdzi Pass is important for the development of recreation resources and as well as for the central government, which dedicates a significant amount of financial resources from both local and the central budget. Consequently, it is important to consider the ongoing processes of resort privatization. This interest is further intensified by the direct sale of a large amount of real estate. This article analyses the assessment aspects of real estate transfer in the form of direct sales and discusses the factors hindering the development of the resort, as well as the expected consequences of massive real estate privatization. So far, the mechanisms of privatization of property owned by the Autonomous Republic of Adjara and the legislation in force within this area, including strengths and weaknesses are discussed. Based on the law, the goal of privatization in the form of direct sale is to transfer the property right to the customer, who fully and conscientiously fulfils the condition(s) set for property privatization in the form of direct sale. The following can be assessed by the projects and activities carried out by the bidder in the past. The examples of direct selling discussed in the article clearly show that there are frequent cases when the transfer of property in the form of direct sale takes place to entrepreneurial entities registered a few days earlier, which excludes from consideration their experience in this particular field. Apart from that, in the legislative part of maintaining the profile as well as in the part of the employment of the locals, different deadlines and terms of condition are set for various companies which differ greatly without any regularity. Due to the abovementioned reasons, the investors who initially agree with the contract initiate amendments which causes changes to be made to the initial agreement. Often, these changes contradict the general plan for the development of the Goderdzi Ski Resort and have an overall negative impact on the stance of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara due to frequent extension of the deadline for the investment execution. Based on the results of the research, it is recommended to create a document (computing formula) that will allow the property management body to determine the minimum amount of employees and the amount of investment during the development of the investment package, as well as the minimum period of profile maintenance.

Citizen Engagement in Aquatics Equity: The Case of Winston Waterworks

Historically, swimming pools have been a source of inequity when it comes to the distribution of recreation services in the United States. Many of the problems that correlate with the inequitable allocation of recreation resources including public swimming pools began with ideas about race, geography, poor planning practices and faulty policymaking (Rothstein, 2017). Moreover, one of the primary outcomes of engaged, inclusive planning is equity in the provision of recreation programs and facilities. In this essay, we offer a summary of key legal cases that help address questions related resource allocation related to public swimming pools. Finally, we present a short case study on the Winston Water Works Project in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. This case illustrates the power of grassroots level advocacy, engaged community planning, and policymaking that protects the recreation infrastructure in a community and moves the needle of social justice toward equity. Our principle interest in this paper is in the equitable provision and distribution of aquatics programming and facilities.

Analysis of the tourism and recreation industry’s attractiveness in Ukrainian regions

The paper evaluates the development capacity of the tourism and recreation industry in Ukrainian regions and analyzes its attractiveness. The results of the calculation of the integral attractiveness index for the tourism and recreation industry in Ukrainian regions for 2013 and 2018 are outlined. The values of subindices in the total attractiveness index rate for the tourism and recreation industry in Ukrainian regions are calculated. The structure of capital investment in the tourism and recreation industry of Ukraine across its regions is characterized. The factors of impact on forming of the development capacity of the tourism and recreation industry in Ukrainian regions are revealed and systematized. The analysis of calculation of the integral ATRI index for Ukrainian regions in 2018 resulted in revealing the following features of regional tourism and recreation systems: 1) indisputable domination of Kyiv not only by the level of integral ATRI index across Ukrainian regions but also by 8 out of its 19 main features, testifying to availability of the balanced set of competitive advantages that allow maximum efficient use of tourism and recreation capacity without unique natural tourism and recreation resources and support attractiveness of the tourism and recreation complex at consistently high level; 2) availability of three powerful regions with the highest attractiveness level of their tourism and recreation systems after Kyiv; 3) active growth of attractiveness of the tourism and recreation industry of catching-up regions; 4) substantial group of regions (9) with unbalanced and often limited set of the tourism and recreation resources and low quality of socio-economic and tourism infrastructure, which affects the investment attractiveness of their tourism and recreation system and the overall level of their attractiveness.