Tourist cluster as a factor of competitive advantages creation in the market of travel services

In the first part of the article the essence of the cluster is revealed through its functional significance to the region; the reasoning for its existence was given and the description of social and economic relations between the inner elements were stated. The cluster role for the region is revealed in the following. The cluster, as a factor influencing on the sources or potential resources together with the existing competitive sources, creates a system of competitive advantages in the region. Competitive advantages favour realization of region's competitiveness. In literature on economics the definition, made by M. Porter, is considered as the generally acknowledged one. A cluster is a group of geographically cooperating, interconnected companies and organizations connected with them, acting in a definite sphere and characterized by common activity and mutual complementation to each other. Clusters interconnection is caused by simultaneous coexistence of mutually contradictory sides - production and consumption forces - by their fight and merger. These forces cause each other and do not exist without each other. This is why the contradiction between production and consumption forces is the main condition of cluster formation. At the same time, this point gives proof of stable economic connections in the cluster and its constant development. In the second part of the article the research of tourist cluster of the Altay Republic is made, basing on the method introduced by N.N. Pidgyrskaya. The study begins with defining the presence or absence of a tourist cluster, then its identification, estimation of its condition and the degree of its development as developed' or poorly developed is conducted. As the result of the research, the tourist cluster of the region was defined as poorly developed, having plenty of problems, causing negative influence on its development: strongly marked seasonality of tourist services demand, low infrastructure development pace in comparison with the cluster needs, multiple exceeding of the demand over the supply in means of placement during the warm seasons, low pace of tourist specialists' education. According to the problems, ways of improving of the tourist cluster of the Republic were suggested: development of business, event and health tourism in the region; creation of firm connections of the educational system and other parts of the tourist cluster; carrying out active marketing of the territory and corresponding monitoring; active investments in the infrastructure, including motivation of private investments (by constructing turnpike roads and bridges); incentives attraction of the investments into complex services by tax remissions, backing, tax credits and providing tourists area on profitable conditions; creation of the system of state-private partnership. The suggested ways will help in realization of the tourist cluster functions as a factor of competitive advantage of the region in the market of travel services

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