Theoretical approaches to the definition of the concept of «tourism»: its essence and characteristics

The article considers the main theoretical approaches to the definition of tourism. The analysis of theoretical research has shown that neither educational nor scientific literature have unified approaches to the interpretation of the essence of the concepts of the categorical apparatus of the tourist industry. This problem leads to ambiguity and contradictions in the interpretation of such concepts and causes problematic issues in the process of legal regulation of tourist activity. Based on the study, it is found out that tourism has clear limitations, characteristics and many definitions in the conceptual sense. The author considers that the main characteristics of tourism are: the departure from the usual environment (from a permanent place of residence); the temporary nature of the trip (limited to a period not exceeding 12 consecutive months); without carrying out paid activities at the place of stay (the main purpose of the trip should not be activities that are paid for from the source of the place being visited); the consumption of hotel, restaurant, transport, excursion and other services; the purpose of the trip is leisure, recreation and leisure, visiting friends and relatives, business and professional purposes, treatment, religion and pilgrimage, other purposes. These features are the basis of the author’s own approach to the interpretation of the concept under study. In addition, we consider it is necessary to clearly distinguish the concept of «tourism» from the concept of «tourist activity». Therefore, we have made a comparative description of these concepts and given the features by which they differ, in particular, the entity of activity, the purpose and type of activity. Taking into account all said above, we believe that tourism can be understood as a direct process of travel, and tourist activity is the mechanism that ensures its implementation.