Zoning of the mountain regions of Azerbaijan for tourism and recreation: the case of Sheki-Zagatala, Guba-Khachmaz and Mountain-Shirvan economic and geographical regions

As the basis of territorial management and planning of the country's tourism sector, tourist and recreational zoning is a catalyst in establishing the balance of territorial proportions and developing the economy of the country's regions. To achieve this goal, the article analyzes the factors of tourist-recreational regional formation and defines the principles and methods of regionalization. Considering the role of zoning for purposes of tourism and recreational in the developing the country's tourism industry, the features of the allocation of regions have been investigated and four directions have been put forward. The article considers tourist and recreational zoning previously carried out by numerous authors – in the USSR with the participation of V.S. Preobrazhensky, I.V. Zorin, V.A. Kvartalnov, as well as in Azerbaijan with the participation of such scientists as E.A. Kotlyarov, A.A. Salmanov, Z.T. Imrani. The mountainous regions of Azerbaijan, which have a rich natural, historical and cultural potential, have all the necessary prerequisites for the prospective development of tourism. Considering the availability of economic opportunities, as well as the development and location of economic and non-industrial sectors, the development of national resources is the basis for the socio-economic development of the country's regions. In the article, we carried out tourist and recreational zoning according to the economic indicators of hotels and similar accommodation facilities in the mountainous regions of Azerbaijan and identified 4 districts, and 3 districts were allocated according to the economic indicators of travel agencies and tour operators. The tourist and recreational zoning of the mountainous regions of Azerbaijan developed by the author can be used for economic purposes and in programs for the socio-economic development of the country's regions.Originally published in https://stcc.rgutspubl.org/index.php/1/article/view/7