Revisiting the Question of Calculating Tourist Flows in the Russian Federation

Abstract

The article analyzes the current state of the tourist flows assessment in the Russian Federation. The lack of a precise and clear methodology for tourist flows calculations is one of the main problems, since this indicator is one of the main factors determining the efficiency of the development of tourist destinations, which allows to form an effective strategy for the territory development. As part of the study, the main approaches to the definition of “tourist flow” are identified, concurrently the existing approaches to the calculation of tourists in various territories are presented. The study showed that the Russian Federation does not keep in possession a complete methodology for counting tourists which is convenient for use in as variety of attractive tourist regions. It causes significant problems in the further development planning and for an arrangement of both a budget policy and a general development strategy. Authors indicate that some regions use their own methods for collecting tourist information. Within the framework of the study the main world trends in the field are presented, which can be adapted to Russian environment. Keywords—tourist flow; tourism statistics; statistics; calculation methods.