Rural Tourism as a Prospective Direction of Social Entrepreneurship in Consumer Cooperation Organizations

Nowadays rural tourism in Russia is considered to be sufficiently developed: the required legal and regulatory framework has been created; state bodies and local territorial self-governments are providing organizational, methodological and financial support. Nevertheless, consumer cooperation organizations, which are inherently socially oriented institutions operating in rural areas, have not been involved in this process up to the present moment. Compiling the experience of rural tourism development in the Belgorod Region (Belgorod District, Valuyiky District and Grayvoron District) and with regard to the peculiar nature of consumer cooperation organizations’ performance, the main challenges and the ways of their solutions concerning the creation and development of rural tourism in consumer cooperation organizations have been singled out. The study is based on the data obtained from the research project “The creation and development of rural tourism as a new trend of consumer cooperation organizations’ performance” conducted with the financial support of Internal and Personnel Policy Department of the Belgorod Region (Agreement # G-10 on November 10, 2013). Overall, it has been determined that the main challenges that consumer cooperation organizations can face are the lack of investment resources, the deficit of qualified personnel and the unsatisfactory status of infrastructure. Management and marketing of rural tourism, the establishment of partnership with state bodies and local territorial self-governments can assist in resolving these problems. Consumer cooperation organizations are recommended to create rural manors at free or conventionally free premises suitable for renovation. The development of rural tourism in consumer cooperation organizations shall contribute to the diversification of their social and economic performance, the involvement of socially vulnerable groups to the region's economy, the improvement of their employment and living standards at the expense of job generation and additional income opportunities provision.