Conceptual approaches to the development of scientific-cognitive tourism in St. Petersburg

Aims. To develop an effective program for the development of science-cognitive tourism in St. Petersburg, which will help to attract tourists and increase the level of people’s knowledge about science.

Objectives. To analyze the current state of scientific-cognitive tourism; to identify the main problems and obstacles for the development of this type of tourism in St. Petersburg; to form conceptual approaches, key activities and projects to be included in the program of scientific[1]cognitive tourism development; to develop a system of indicators of scientific-cognitive tourism development in St. Petersburg.

Methods. The methods of descriptive literature review and statistical data analysis were used in the research process. The research includes the study and analysis of scientific articles, reports of scientific conferences and other publications related to the topic of scientific-cognitive tourism in St. Petersburg. This allows to form the theoretical basis of the study, to identify the main approaches, concepts and directions of development of scientific-cognitive tourism and its impact on the socio-economic sphere of the city. The analysis of statistics is based on the official statistical data on tourism provided by the Committee for Tourism Development of St. Petersburg, as well as on the data of international and domestic travel agencies, operators. On the basis of their analysis the trends and indicators of scientific and cognitive tourism development in the city at the present stage are revealed, the factors affecting supply and demand in this sphere are determined. To achieve the goals set in the article the general scientific methods were applied: synthesis, comparison, generalization.

Results. The authors proposed conceptual approaches, main activities and projects that are included in the program of development of scientific and cognitive tourism. The system of indicators of development of scientific-cognitive tourism in St. Petersburg is developed.

Conclusions. The conceptual approaches are presented within the framework of measures for the development of scientific-cognitive tourism. A program for the development of scientific[1]cognitive tourism has been developed, including such measures as the creation of a department for the development of scientific-cognitive tourism in the Committee for Tourism Development of St. Petersburg, the organization and implementation of a set of measures for the formation of sightseeing tours for schoolchildren of 10-11th grades in all state universities of St. Petersburg on priority areas of science, the construction and implementation of training and retraining courses for tourism workers in order to increase expertise in scientific-cognitive tourism. The system of indicators is developed, which will reflect in dynamics the growth of infrastructure of scientific-cognitive tourism and in view of it the increase of tourist flow. Thus, it is proposed to systematically develop this type of tourism, using the proposed program, taking into account the existing challenges.

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11.