Author(s)

Shevchuk Anatoly Vasilyevich^1,2

¹SOPS VAVT of Ministry of Economic Development of Russia, Moscow, Russia.
²Department of Nature Management and Ecology, Presidential Academy (RANEPA), Russian Economic Academy, Moscow, Russia.

The article considers the issues of increasing the contribution of protected areas to socio-economic development based on tourism development. The relevance of the problem, the general state of tourism development as a whole, including that in protected areas, is presented. Information is provided on the development of ecotourism in the CIS countries (Belarus and Kazakhstan), as well as in China. An analysis of the regulatory framework in the field of ecotourism, including the implementation of the national project “Ecology” and federal projects is given. The research based on the Smolenskoye Poozerye NP is described with the aim of developing a Methodology for assessing the contribution of protected areas to the socio-economic development of the region. Calculations using the example of the Smolenskoye Poozerye National Park are given, as well as recommendations for the further development of ecological tourism in the protected area.

Protected Area, Tourism, Ecological Tourism, CIS, PRC, National Project, Federal Project, Assessment Methods, Calculations

Vasilyevich, S. (2025) Increasing the Contribution of Specially Protected Natural Areas to the Socio-Economic Development of Regions. Open Journal of Social Sciences, 13, 605-624. doi: 10.4236/jss.2025.135034.