“Tourist space” as a concept: scientific approaches to the study

The article attempts to generalize various points of view of foreign and domestic scientists on the concept of “tourist space”, its potential and structure as an object of construction. The main scientific approaches to understanding the tourist space (geographical, economic, economic-geographical, social, sociocultural, interdisciplinary) have been identified and systematized, their characteristic features have been identified. Based on the analysis, it was concluded that the most holistic concept of the tourist space can be presented as part of an interdisciplinaryapproach with the involvement of specialists from various fields and areas involved in the creation, arrangement and development of tourist spaces of the worlds regions. Based on the combination of numerous typological criteria for tourist space proposed by scientists, its main elements are identified. In conclusion, the problem areas in the study of tourist space are identified which, in the opinion of the authors, not yet reflected in the understanding of its essence. The results of the study can be used in developing the fundamental theory of tourism, in developing concepts and strategies for the development of tourism in the regions of Russia to increase the competitiveness of regional tourism products and their promotion in the domestic and international tourism services market.