Conditions and development state of rural tourism accommodation facilities in Belarus

Bibliogr. s. 181-217

This dissertation addresses the issue of development and functioning of accommodation facilities specializing in providing services for tourists participating in rural tourism in Belarus. Rural tourism as a social, cultural, economic and spatial phenomenon has been a subject of interest and scientific discussion for many years, also in Belarus. The main aim of this paper is to determine the factors and limitations regarding the development of rural tourism accommodation facilities in Belarus, to indicate the directions of their spatial development, as well as to recognize the specificity of the functioning of such facilities from their organization point of view,and the scope and type of services provided. In order to achieve the main aim, the following specific objectives were adopted: - recognition of the current state and directions of spatial development in rural tourism accommodation facilities; - determinationof the development factors in rural tourism accommodation facilities, resulting from natural, socio-cultural, economic, legal and organizational conditions; - recognition of the type and scope of basic and complementary services provided to tourists in rural tourism accommodation facilities; - recognition of limitations and barriers to the development and functioning of rural tourism accommodation facilities; - determination of the development opportunities for rural tourism accommodation facilities in Belarus in the future. In order to achieve the main aim and specific objectives of this paper, field research was carried out in the form of questionnaire-based interviews with administrators of rural tourism accommodation facilities (91 interviews in total), as well as interviews with employees of the "Rest in the countryside" association (15 interviews in total); representatives of local authorities (10 interviews); as well as employees of the Tourism Department of the Ministry of Sport and Tourism, the "Belagroprombank", the regional tax office and the coordinator of regional international project on rural tourism in Belarus. The analysis included also 78 legal and planning documents. As a research result, it was found among others that: - rapid development of rural tourism accommodation facilities in Belarus began in the 1990s with the beginning of creation of a new economic order by the state; - the features related to the shaping process of the accommodation services market in rural areas of Belarus are: dynamism, liveliness, spontaneity in the sphere of individual entrepreneurship and uncertainty of economic effects, which indicates the initial phase of its development; - the shaping process of the tourist services market in rural areas of Belarus shows both similarities and distinguishing features in relation to similar processes of rural tourism development in Western European countries, including Poland; - the rapid growth in the number of establishments providing accommodation services in rural tourism of Belarus since the beginning of the 21st century results from the influence of various genetic factors originating both in the tourist potential of geographical area of the country and the development of individual entrepreneurship, as well as the growing need for outdoor recreation among the inhabitants of the country due to the high level of social urbanization; an important role is played by the presence of free housing resources in rural areas; - the supply development of accommodation in rural tourism is also significantly influenced by the state policy aimed at stimulating individual entrepreneurship and economic activity of the inhabitants in certain economic sectors in rural areas, accompanied by the creation of legal regulations; - uneven spatial distribution of rural tourism accommodation facilities throughout the country is primarily determined by the influence of a factor of spatial proximity of rural areas on major urban agglomerations; - the spatial distribution of rural tourism in Belarus is affected by the reach of radioactive contamination, which excludes the development of economic, agricultural, tourism and recreational activities; - the rural tourism offer alleviates the situation of regional disproportions in the supply of collective accommodation; - development of rural tourism accommodation facilities in qualitative terms determines the condition of housing resources offered by administrators, equipment of facilities and development of their surroundings, as well as the needs and expectations of tourists; - complementary offer of services in rural tourism accommodation facilities is conditioned by individual organizational capabilities of the administrators, especially the ability to create (establish) informal cooperation networks in the local and extra-local environment; - although the provision of accommodation services in rural tourism in Belarus is not formally included in its economic activity, the operation of facilities requires specific entrepreneurial competences of the administrators, which determine the economic success of business ventures in rural tourism; - the functional model of analysed accommodation facilities is primarily responsive to the needs of domestic tourists as well as to the needs of foreign tourists who take advantage of the optional activities to a greater extent and are more interested in learning cultural values, including folklore and folk crafts, than domestic guests; - rural tourism is a factor supporting social and economic development of rural areas of Belarus, although its role in the functional structure of these areas can be described as "additional"; - in the light of research results, the prospects and direction of development of this tourist base category in Belarus are difficult to predict, due to serious "internal" and "external" weaknesses in the functioning of this tourist services sector, which significantly impede its development; - the opportunity to maintain development in the long term will have those facilities, whose managers will have appropriate financial resources, which will allow them to create an attractive and competitive service offer, adapted to the growing expectations of domestic tourists. Moreover, it will be difficult for "agri-ecotourism" entities to compete with other accommodation facilities operating commercially on a larger scale and with a similar profile; the sphere of uncertainty is also increased by other problematic issues, such as e.g. the possibility of co-existence of the tourist function and large-scale agriculture or the development of tourist services within agri-cities, which as a result of the sectoral policies pursued by the state take on a small-town character with typical housing estate features. From the medium-term perspective, the evaluation of rural tourism development opportunities is also related to the answer of still open question: will there be sufficient interest in the resources and attractions of rural areas in the post-agrarian urban society of Belarus, where strong and multi-faceted relations with rural areas are still maintained, and where the inhabitants of cities will be willing to use them on commercial terms?