Strategy and improvement of the practice of ecological tourism development in the Leningrad region

The article sets out the theoretical foundations and principles of the strategy for the development of ecological tourism, as well as the practice of implementing the proposed strategy on the example of the Leningrad region. Using the methods of systematic, spatial, ecological study of the territory, it is justified the allocation of areas for future tourist-ecological clusters, each of which is characterized from the point of view of its ecological framework and supplemented by related directions for the development of tourism. Each area has its own name, at least one protected area is within the area. The concept of the ecological framework of the territory is considered and its elements are distinguished: the core of the framework (nodes, natural-geographical windows, key territories), nature reserves, protected areas of national and natural parks, nature reserves, natural monuments, transit ecological corridors, multifunctional buffer (transitional) territories The conditions for creating future eco-tourism clusters are defined: - the most suitable for tourist and recreational improvement: infrastructure development, the creation of various attractions, the organization of a healthy pastime, creating additional opportunities for people with disabilities; - combining recreational and historical-cultural resources; - possessing relative transport accessibility in relation to St. Petersburg; - ecologically -the availability of infrastructure for healthy lifestyle tourism and health-improving tourism (bike paths, ski slopes, Nordic walking, hiking. - the presence of a minimum tourist infrastructure and access roads The priority Gatchina cluster was considered in detail, the stages of development of ecological tourism in the region on a cluster basis were determined.