The Structure of Attractiveness of Russian Cities: To Spend a Night in Moscow, to Take a Walk in Saint Petersburg and to Have a Meal in Kazan

Tourism is one of the most important forms of human migration in the modern world. International tourism is also one of the key ways to form a global society. Tourism is an important means of personal development and, at the same time, an important branch of the global economy. There are very different levels of development of the tourist industry in different countries of the world. Tourist superpowers of our age are France, the USA and Spain. In recent years, Russia has failed to reach the top ten leading tourist countries of the world; thus, the task of enhancing its tourist potential is an urgent one. The purpose of tourist routes and tourist hubs are metropolises, and their attractiveness is of great importance in terms of increasing tourist flows. The main components of the structure of the attractiveness of cities are the charm of their hotels, restaurants and sights. Based on empirical data, the author examines the perception of the main components of the tourist infrastructure of 12 megalopolises of Russia by Russian citizens and foreign tourists. The author analyzes Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg, Nizhny Novgorod, Kazan, Samara, Omsk, Chelyabinsk, Rostov-on-Don, Ufa and Krasnoyarsk. Based on the methodology proposed in the article, the values of indicators of the attractiveness of hotels, restaurants and sights, as well as the integral indicator of the attractiveness of Russian megalopolises are calculated. In the opinion of Russian citizens, the best hotels in their country are in Moscow, St. Petersburg and Kazan, the most attractive restaurants are in Kazan, St. Petersburg and Moscow, and the most interesting sights are in St. Petersburg, Moscow and Kazan. In the perception of Russian citizens, the most attractive metropolises of Russia in a decreasing order are St. Petersburg, Moscow, Kazan, Yekaterinburg and Nizhny Novgorod. There are important differences in the perception of the attractiveness of Russian cities by citizens of Russia and foreign tourists. Foreign guests highly appreciate Moscow and St. Petersburg, but other Russian megalopolises are of much less interest for them. The most prominent sights of Russia in the perception of Russian citizens are Red Square in Moscow, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood in St. Petersburg and the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg. International tourists appreciate above all the State Hermitage Museum, the Church of the Savior on Spilled Blood and Red Square.

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