SOCIO-ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE EFFICIENCY OF IMPLEMENTATION OF THE TOURIST AND RECREATIONAL POTENTIAL OF THE ZAKARPATTIA OBLAST IN THE FIELD OF RURAL GREEN TOURISM

Abstract

The article presents the results of a study of the tourism and recreational potential of small and micro-enterprises in the sphere of rural green tourism in the Zakarpattia Oblast in the context of crisis and instability. It analyses the social factors influencing the development of this sector of the state economy, identifies problematic aspects in their activities that may negatively affect the development of tourism in general, as well as the impact of such crisis phenomena as COVID-19, its consequences and martial law. The authors have identified the factors that have a destructive impact and the factors that would contribute to overcoming the crisis. The aim of the research is to conduct a socio-economic study of the development of tourist and recreational potential of rural green tourism in the region and identify ways to unlock the potential of this sphere of the region's economy, which will be effective for their practical implementation in the activities of accommodation and catering enterprises. Methodology. The study was conducted on the basis of a survey of managers and owners of rural green tourism enterprises through a personal questionnaire, as well as an analysis of statistical indicators of the performance of temporary accommodation enterprises, based on official statistics of the Zakarpattia Oblast for 2020 and 2021 and provided by the Main Department of Statistics in the Zakarpattia Oblast. The monitoring covered private peasant farms in the region, namely 90 owners of such tourist farmsteads, of whom 70% were middle-aged (36-55 years old), 58% of them combine employment in the tourism sector with their main job in the public sector, and 6% have their own business other than the service sector. The results of the study demonstrate that the activities, development and general existence of rural green tourism in the region are affected by such destructive processes as crisis phenomena such as COVID-19, political instability, martial law and other macro- and microeconomic factors, which can be overcome or at least minimised by their impact on the tourism services sector to increase the viability of small businesses, which, as is known from international practice, is one of the elements of overall economic growth in the region and the state as a whole. According to the results of the study, the factors influencing the activities of enterprises, the behavioural patterns of owners of rural green tourism institutions in the context of the crisis were identified and mechanisms for minimising and overcoming the consequences of the crisis were developed, such as: diversification of business and expansion of the types of services that can be provided to potential consumers, introduction of an effective management and marketing system, adoption of European experience in the field of green tourism and proposals for improving the legislative framework for businesses to leave the shadow economy.