Meanwhile, many governments are adopting diverse concepts, models, and tools for ecotourism development in PAs based on international recommendations for sustainable ecotourism, their own traditions, public policies, accumulated experience, and the characteristics of their PAs [
20,
21,
22].
2. The Russian Approach to Ecotourism Development in PAs
Since the adoption of the Durban Agreement, the country’s priorities and approaches to the development of PAs have changed [
26]. The isolationist approach to managing PAs, which has been in place for many decades and involves the complete isolation of these areas, is being replaced by the integration approach [
27].
In October 2010, during a government meeting on the development of PAs, it was decided to set a course for the development of ecotourism. It was agreed to begin by creating legal conditions that would support recreational and tourist activities in national parks and nature reserves. Russia then adopted the Concept of Development of Federal Protected Areas for the period up to 2020. This concept not only defines the development of educational tourism as a special type of ecotourism, but also recognizes the role of PA as an equal participant in the tourism industry [
28]. During the years of implementation of the concept, significant budgetary investments have been made in the creation of infrastructure facilities for ecological education and tourism.
Ecotourism has become an important area of development for Russian PAs, which have begun to offer a variety of ecotourism services [
13]. For example, in 2021, the total number of visitors to eco-trails in PAs was 13,774,281 people, which is 40% more than in 2019 [
29], p. 149. At the same time, it should be noted that Russia’s share in the global market of ecotourism services is still insignificant.
As ecotourism continues to grow in popularity, there has been a corresponding increase in the number of studies on issues related to ecotourism, including the assessment of ecotourism resources, development planning, support measures, the involvement of the local community, and the analysis of international cooperation [
30,
31,
32,
33].
Russian researchers have a shared understanding of the fundamental elements of ecotourism, such as nature education, respecting local residents’ interests, and ecosystem preservation. However, there is still no universally recognized and standardized definition of ecotourism [
34]. Many definitions of ecotourism are reliant on those provided by international environmental and tourism organizations [
35]. According to National regulatory documents (GOST), ecotourism is defined as nature-based tours that aim to explore natural and cultural attractions while promoting respect for nature and supporting conservation efforts [
36].
Given that Russian ecotourism policy is linked to PAs, the significant aspects of ecotourism include (i) natural orientation of tourism; (ii) increasing the responsibility of producers and consumers of ecotourism services; (iii) the conservation, restoration, and rational use of natural resources; (iv) education, volunteerism, environmental culture and awareness; (v) the involvement of local residents of natural areas in economic and social activities to promote ecotourism and environmental protection; and (vi) the development and support of ecotourism infrastructure.
Ecotourism is now a significant factor influencing the functioning of PAs, and as such, is reflected in the goals and mechanisms of their management. The Russian approach to the development of ecotourism in PAs is determined by the state policy, which includes legislative, regulatory, investment, organizational, economic and informational measures (
Figure 1). It presents the results of the analysis of the institutional conditions for streamlining the solution of specific tasks of the integrated ecotourism development in protected areas, which are contained in Russian legislative documents, concepts, programs, norms and rules.
![Sustainability 15 13661 g001](/media/item/202309/650bb7cdd4c3fsustainability-15-13661-g001-550.jpg)
Figure 1. Key documents and measures for the development of ecotourism in Russian PAs. Source: compiled by the authors.
Various measures are taken to organize ecotourism in PAs, and these measures depend on the PA status, whether it is federal, regional or local. Revisions in the fundamental law governing protected areas are essential to enable the effective functioning of all lower categories of PAs. The quality infrastructure and accessibility of eco-tourism services depend on the willingness of those managing the protected areas to foster the development of ecotourism. The majority of protected areas have initiated this task by modifying their functioning processes [
37]. Several initiatives, including new ecotourism concepts and programs for certain protected areas (PAs) [
11], the enhanced functional zoning of national parks [
38,
39], the development of eco-trails [
40], and the building of infrastructure inside PAs [
41], p. 176, have been introduced.
The market for ecotourism has been growing in nearly all regions of Russia. The 231 PAs across 68 regions have developed measures aimed at integrating the environmental, recreational, and educational activities of the PAs into the socio-economic development of their respective regions [
37]. Several PAs, especially nature reserves and national parks, still receive state funding to support nature conservation, ecotourism infrastructure, education, and other related purposes [
29], p. 176. During the period of 2020–2021, 146 museums, 296 visitor centers, 1799 eco-trails and routes were created in federal PAs [
29,
41], p. 152, p. 176.
The goal is to create ecotourism infrastructure in 32 national parks by 2024, while also providing a safe, accessible, and comfortable environment for all visitors, including people with disabilities, the elderly, and children. This is aimed at promoting tourism products [
28]. According to the authors, there are few studies on ecotourism development in Russian PAs in the modern scientific literature, particularly outside Russia.