Assessment of the quality of tourist services at the meso-level: methodological aspects

The article is devoted to the study of methodological approaches to assessing the quality of tourist services at the meso-level. The subject of the research is activities for the provision of tourist services at the level of individual territories. The author studies approaches to the definition and classification of quality indicators, highlights indicators for analysis, identifies sources of information and an assessment of their availability, and determines the procedure for calculating and evaluating. The article substantiates the necessity of using diagrams in the process of assessing the quality of tourist services at the meso-level DFD (Data Flow Diagram) notation. Based on the data of official statistics, the author analyzes the indicators for assessing the quality of tourist services, and the effectiveness of providing tourist services using the example of one of the federal districts of the Russian Federation, namely the North Caucasian Federal District (NCFD). This made it possible to present a rating of the subjects of the North Caucasus Federal District by the level of quality of the provided tourist services. The data obtained can be used in drawing up a regional tourism development strategy to identify weaknesses and improve management mechanisms. The study made it possible to conclude that it is advisable to use indicators for assessing the quality of tourist services at the meso-level, which are assessed from two positions, namely from the position of the consumer and from the position of the entity providing tourist services.