AGROTOURISM SERVICES AS A FACTOR IN INCREASING THE PROFITABILITY OF HORSE BREEDING IN RURAL AREAS OF THE REGION

Abstract

Traditions of self-harvesting, visits to eco-farms and other leisure activities of urban residents in rural areas are gradually becoming part of our cultural and leisure practice. It is safe to say that agrotourism has already been formed as one of the types of tourism in our country, and, moreover, it is actively developing. In addition to the leisure, cognitive and educational effects that arise in agrotourism by providing practical access to agriculture to the population, agrotourism services are actively introduced and developed by farmers as a response to difficult economic conditions. Agrotourism, while providing the urban population with opportunities for recreation, education and entertainment, at the same time enables agricultural producers to diversify their own incomes. The connection between horse breeding and agrotourism opens up additional opportunities for enterprises whose main activity is related to breeding horse breeding. If we talk about the development of agrotourism in the Perm Region, the horse breeding sector is the most competitive, despite the fact that this type of agrotourism, as a direction for the development of farmers' activities, has certain difficulties and constraints. First of all, these are high investment costs and problems in staffing with highly qualified personnel. At the same time, one should not ignore the strategic advantages of this area, the main one being the interest of consumers. The article examines the activities of one of the agricultural enterprises of the Perm Region engaged in breeding the symbol of domestic horse breeding - the Oryol horse breed. The development of agrotourism based on it could be considered as a strategy for maintaining competitiveness and expanding the existing agricultural business model.