THEORETICAL AND METHODICAL FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIO-GEOGRAPHICAL ANALYSIS OF THE RECREATIONAL AND TOURISM POTENTIAL OF A REGION

Abstract

Recreational and tourism potential is considered one of the leading factors of regional socioeconomic development in the context of the global rise of tourism. Its effective utilization ensures economic diversification, enhances territorial competitiveness, and contributes to the improvement of the population’s quality of life. These issues are of particular importance for coastal regions, especially Odesa, which possesses a favorable economic and geographical location, a significant resource base, and promising opportunities for the development of various types of tourism. Within scientific discourse, the socio-geographical approach is of great significance, as it combines natural and socio-humanitarian aspects of research and allows for the examination of recreational and tourism potential as a multidimensional system. The purpose of this study was to substantiate theoretical and methodological foundations and to develop scientific and applied approaches to the assessment and optimization of the recreational and tourism potential of the region. In preparing the article, descriptive, analytical, comparative-geographical, and generalizing methods were applied. The systemic approach made it possible to consider recreational and tourism potential as an integrated multi-component structure, in which natural, socio-economic, cultural, and infrastructural factors interact. The information base of the study included monographs, textbooks, as well as scientific publications by domestic and foreign authors. The article examined the content and essence of the concepts “recreational potential” and “tourism potential” in contemporary geographical science. Classification approaches to the study of recreational and tourism resources were analyzed, and key methodological principles of socio-geographical assessment of the recreational and tourism potential of a region were identified. A review of foreign and domestic research experience in this field was presented. An integrative approach was proposed, taking into account natural-resource, socio-economic, and cultural-historical factors. Recreational and tourism potential should be regarded as a holistic system, the management of which requires a combination of classical and modern analytical methods. The experience of foreign countries demonstrates the effectiveness of integrated strategies that combine economic, environmental, and cultural aspects, and can serve as a basis for improving approaches to the development of recreational and tourism potential in Ukraine. The practical significance of the research results lies in the fact that the proposed approaches to the assessment of recreational and tourism potential may be applied in strategic planning, the development of regional tourism programs, and the design of investment projects.