The Head of the laboratory: Astashin Andrey Evgenyevich – Cand.Sc. (Geography), assistant professor
Laboratory staff:
- Fevraleva N.I. - Cand.Sc. (Geography),assistant professor.
- BadyinМ.М. Cand.Sc. (Education), assistant professor.
- RizhovЕ.V. – PG student
- SamoylovАV. – 5th year student
- BachirevaМ.V. – 5th year student
- ErchovaКVВ. – 4th year student
Recreation and tourism make economical ecological and pedagogical problem. Development of tourism is one of the main targets in Government policy.
Authors have developed technology of landscape recreational analysis of the region on the basis of geo-informational systems. The technology has been tested on the territory of Nizhny Novgorod region, which constitutes a natural economic model of the Mid Russia territory that helps implement the experiment data for other regions.
The use of landscape approach is based on the fact that, character of economic operations is defined by natural resources peculiarities as well as by conditions and therefore land use is impossible without consideration of individual landscape peculiarities of the territory. Taking into consideration specific character of nature , the network of communities was naturally organized, their economical specialization was formed, infrastructure was created and so on. Objects of heritage can’t be considered as separate from landscape peculiarities of the territory, as culture, mentality, traditions have been formed under influence of local natural peculiarities and are therefore their continuation and consequence.
Organization of regional touristic recreational activities begins with effective planning and attraction of investment, for this reason it is necessary to make inventory assessment as well as evaluation of resources and conditions, dimensional tourist recreational analysis of territorial touristic- recreational system of the region. To analyze dimensional data it is rational to use geo-informational methods. Geo-informational systems (GIS) have been developed for this very purpose to solve problems of natural resources management and by now they have one of the best instruments to solve problems of this kind.
Goals and objectives of the laboratory
Goal: to analyze amount and quality of resource base of regional landscapes on the basis of systematic and comparative approaches in order to define prospective of tourism and recreational development within the concept of stable development.
Objectives:
1) Analysis of landscape structure of the territory;
2) Geo-ecological evaluation of landscapes;
3) Differentiation of landscapes in accordance with degree of touristic and recreational importance;
4) Work out of recommendations on optimizing of touristic and recreational activities;
5) Development of model of touristic and recreational framework of the region.
Methods and approaches used by the research laboratory: landscape approach; methods: geo-informational, ethnography.
A landscape approach is relevant due to the complex nature of the territory study. All blocks of the tourist resource base of the region are somehow determined by landscape – natural heritage, and the nature of economic activity, and patterns of settlement, and the nature and quantitative characteristics of heritage objects as well as infrastructure and mentality of the people, settled in this particular landscape.
GIS method allows structuring available information, updating it promptly, analyzing, and visualizing in the form of GIS maps, which greatly facilitates the understanding of the contents of a GIS project by managers and contributes to more effective management of tourism and recreation development.
Place of research work in the educational programs of the University
The results of the work of Research laboratory are used in the courses "Recreational geography of Nizhny Novgorod region ", "Physical geography of the Nizhny Novgorod region", "Introduction to tourism", "tourism Geography", "History", "Recreational geography", "GIS in tourism", "Management of tourism and recreational research", "Fundamental Principles of Tourist activities"
Within the framework of Research laboratory work students regularly perform course and diploma papers,master's thesis, many of which have won prizes at regional competitions and Russian national contests on geography in the competition of projects (2014 – first place, 2015 – second place).
Target partners of Research laboratory:
Nizhny Novgorod regional Department of all-Russian public organization "Russian geographical society";
The Fund for Sustainable development of the Nizhny Novgorod region";
The Ministry of Education of Nizhny Novgorod region;
The Ministry of Natural Resources of the Nizhny Novgorod region.
Outcomes of Research laboratory activities:
Actual material on recreational issues has been collected and processed on (data of nature and of heritage objects and infrastructure of the Nizhny Novgorod region), inventory and systematization of touristic recreational resources of Nizhny Novgorod region has been made;
- grant of Russian Humanitarian Science Foundationwas won “GIS inventory and dimensional tourist recreational analysis of resources of Nizhny Novgorod region in accordance with landscape approach “ (2014);
- geo-informational data base “Natural resources of the world” was created and awarded certificate of registration of the electronic resource
- geo-informational project "Tourism and recreation resources landscaped areas of the Nizhny Novgorod region" was created.
- algorithm of using geo-informational project "Tourism and recreation resources of landscape areas of the Nizhny Novgorod region" in the landscape and recreation Analysis was worked out;
- analysis of landscape and recreation in the Nizhny Novgorod region was conducted on the basis of geo-information project "Tourism and recreation resources of landscape areas of the Nizhny Novgorod region" the aim being to differentiate landscape areas of the Nizhny Novgorod region on the basis of security of the natural, historical and cultural heritage and tourism infrastructure as well as work out of schemes of functional zoning of tourist and recreational structure in Nizhny Novgorod region;
- recommendations on optimal tourist and recreational use of the territories of landscape areas in Nizhny Novgorod region taking into consideration availability of objects natural and historical and cultural heritage as well as touristic infrastructure ;
- more than 100 works were published, 8 of them being published in magazines included into List of peer-reviewed scientific magazines of Russia;
- 2 theses have been upheld to apply for degree of Cand.Sc(Geography)(2009);
- students’ scientific research has been made, that won prizes at regional and federal contests.
Strategy of Research laboratory Development:
- The accumulation of factual material about the current state of landscapes and tourist and recreational resources of Russian regions;
- Detalization of landscape zoning of regions of Russia;
- Work out of methodological approaches to the study of dynamics of geo-systems influenced by functioning of territorial systems, tourism and recreation;
- The impact of structural and dynamic features of geo-systems on governing mechanisms of tourist flows;
- Forecasting of landscape development under influence of the functioning of regional tourism and recreation systems.