A Transboundary Environmental and Tourism Cluster in Western Altai: Recreational and Geographic Substantiation

Abstract

Active development of domestic and international tourism in Russian regions necessitates the creation of tourist clusters. A tourist cluster is a purposeful concentration of tourist and recreational resources, interconnected enterprises, organizations, and facilities providing infrastructure and services to meet the needs of domestic and foreign tourists. Tourist clusters are of particular importance since they attract specially protected natural areas [SPNA] to tourism. Tourist clusters are often formed in the border areas. One of the examples is a project for transboundary nature conservation and the creation of a tourist cluster in Western Altai, which includes the territories of the East Kazakhstan region and the Altai Krai. The study aims to provide a recreational and geographical substantiation and identify the prerequisites for creating transboundary nature conservation and tourist area. The project is based on biodiversity, the presence of other natural resources (comfortable climatic, geomorphological, water, etc.), little-changed landscapes, the successful functioning of protected areas of different categories (both from Russia and Kazakhstan), the presence of objects of tourist interest, attractions, and other prerequisites for the formation of an international nature conservation and tourism cluster. Using SWOT analysis, the authors analyze the prospects for forming a transboundary nature conservation and tourist cluster in Western Altai. The analysis allows us to highlight strong and weak points and to identify possible opportunities and risks. The projected cluster is assessed from the standpoint of environmental protection. The authors assessed the natural and tourist potential of the territory based on such criteria as transport accessibility, development of the territory, recreational infrastructure, anthropogenic impact, etc. The results of the conducted recreational and geographical analysis allow us to justify the design and draw conclusions about the significant potential for forming a transboundary nature conservation and tourist cluster in the Western Altai transboundary area of Russia and Kazakhstan.