Innovative activities of museums in the Rostov region as a factor in increasing the tourist attractiveness of the region

This study is aimed at identifying the innovative activities of museums in the Rostov region, contributing to an increase in the tourist attractiveness of the region. The article reveals the concept and essence of museums, substantiates the relevance and feasibility of developing innovative activities of museums as a cultural and educational institution and a component of the regional tourism infrastructure of the Rostov region. Museums can make a significant contribution to creating a memorable experience when a tourist interacts with a proposed tourism product. The participation of museums in the development of interactive programs and events included in the regional event calendar can make a significant contribution to the growth and distribution of tourist traffic.


Introduction
The peculiarity of the museum is that it is at the same time the custodian of the national treasure and the subject of the services market. Museums are non-profit organizations and can carry out entrepreneurial activities only insofar as it serves to achieve the goals for which they were created, and in line with these goals. This entails the need for financial support from the state, but, at the same time, it does not relieve museums of the obligation to take into account the realities of the market economy, master economic thinking, and introduce new management and organization tools. The museum is a basic institution that ensures the preservation and study of historical and cultural values and at the same time determines the possibility of implementing one of the most important types of social and cultural services for the population -tourism and excursion activities.
When determining the priority directions of museum activities, modern trends in the development of museums are taken into account, first of all: -the growing role of museums in education through the active use of the unique subject environment of museum expositions; -active introduction of information and communication technologies into the work of museums; -the introduction of interactive forms of work and, as a result, the growth of the value of the figurative-emotional and leisure components of work with the visitor; -entry of museums to new promising markets: information, cultural tourism, recreation, etc .; -creation of museum centers, demonstrating examples of the formation of a qualitatively new space of communication and the production of new ideas; -the emergence of new technologies, mechanisms and organizational forms that make it possible to ensure the safety of museum items and collections while expanding their accessibility to visitors; -development of new approaches to the management, financing and organization of museums; -development of museums as a comfortable environment through the priority development of the infrastructure for receiving visitors.
In recent years, the number of museums has been increasing in the Rostov region; travel agencies are creating new proposals aimed at developing domestic tourism. The possibility of the successful functioning of museum and tourist institutions is inextricably linked with the optimization of the interaction of both spheres of activity. Hence, it becomes necessary to study interconnected systems: "museum -tourist institutions", "innovative museum activities -tourist activities", "museum network -tourist routes".
The problem of the relationship between the development of museums and tourism, the role of innovative activities of museums in the formation of tourist flows, as well as the influence of tourist and recreational activities on the development of the museum network are currently considered relevant.
The purpose of the work is to analyze the specifics of the organization and functioning of the museum network of the Rostov region and to study the role of innovative activities of museums on the development of regional tourism.
To achieve this goal, the following tasks were solved in the work: -to determine the main patterns of the formation of museums in the Rostov region and to analyze the influence of various socio-geographical factors on this process; -consider the traditional and innovative activities of the museums of the Rostov region and determine the trends of its development; -to determine the degree and nature of the dependence of the emerging structure of tourist and excursion flows on the geographical location of museums and their uniqueness; -to reveal the role and importance of the museum and tourist complex in the formation of the tourist attractiveness of the region.

Materials and methods
In modern conditions of functioning of museums, a variety of innovative processes are becoming more common. The approbation and implementation of innovations in the museum and tourism environment should be considered as a continuous process, as a component of the daily activities of museums and tourism enterprises.
When identifying the specifics of the innovative activities of the museums of the Rostov region, which are part of the tourism and hospitality industry, it was necessary to analyze the works of such foreign authors as: F. Fathy [6].
The issues of organizing innovative activities of museums are reflected in the works of such authors as: A-C Li, C-M Shu, Y-T Teng, T-S Shen, P-P Hsieh, 2018 [7], G. Litti, A. Audenaert, K. Fabbri, 2018 [8].
Among the main methodological approaches used in organizing the activities of museums, one should single out the systemic, institutional and integrated approaches. They provide an opportunity to study the trends and processes taking place in museum activities.
In the course of the study, a typological approach is also used, which allows to characterize not only the current trends, problems and contradictions of the transformation of museums, but also to identify possible prospects for this process. The scientific provisions, conclusions and recommendations contained in the article are based on the use of combined methods of historical and logical analysis.

Results
About a million tourists visit the Rostov region every year. The tourist resource of the region includes up to 800 objects of the tourism industry. Due to the presence of museums on the territory of the region, a significant number of historical and cultural objects and natural monuments, its tourist potential has sufficient opportunities for the further development of the cultural and educational sphere. Comfortable climatic conditions for a significant part of the calendar year, the richness of cultural and ethnographic traditions, the presence of developed transport links (railways and roads, airlines, waterways) with other constituent entities of Russia and countries of the near and far abroad characterize the Rostov region as a promising region in the all-Russian segment of the industry tourism.
Consider the interdependent development of museums and tourism. The relationship between the spheres of organizing the museum and tourism business evolved in different ways in different periods of history. In the 1920s and 1930s, the development of tourist routes, the construction of a network of tourist institutions were focused primarily on the use of natural objects. Historical and cultural monuments and museums were most often considered only as additional objects that increase the attractiveness of tourist routes, and for the organization of excursions, first of all, industrial facilities, agricultural and technical museums were used. In the post-war period (40s), the attitude of tourism to museums changed radically -story-based and thematic routes became widespread, where museums were considered as the main objects of display. In the 50s -60s, tourism was rapidly developing, acquiring a large-scale character, the number of tourist routes was increasing, and almost the entire museum network was involved in tourist activities. The 70s were a borderline when the development of a network of museums began to be considered in conjunction with the development of mass tourism. The high demand for spiritual values has become an impetus for the formation of a reverse process -when a tourist pilgrimage to any valuable historical and cultural monument, the territory becomes the reason for the creation of museums. The interrelation between the organization of museum and tourism business was especially clearly manifested in the formation of large museum-reserves. On the basis of the combination of museums-reserves with tourist centers, an integral territorial recreational system of a cognitive type has been formed -a museum-tourist complex, in which both services related to museum activities and tourism services develop interdependently. A museum or a complex of museum objects and monuments is the resource-forming core of the system. The Rostov region includes 55 administrative-territorial entities, of which 12 urban districts and 43 municipal districts, as well as 408 administrative-territorial units: 18 urban and 390 rural settlements. The population of the region, according to Rosstat, is 4195327 people, of which 68% are urban residents, 32% are rural. The density of the rural population ranges from 8 to over 30 people per square kilometer. Of the 43 municipal districts of the region in 28 -the rural population is 100% of the total population. In other districts, the ratio of urban to rural population ranges from 14% to 65% of the total population of the district, which indicates the unevenness of the territorial distribution of the population. There are 63 museums on the territory of the Rostov region, including 1 federal one: "The State Museum-Reserve of M.A. Sholokhov "; 15 regional, 27 municipal and 1 memorial. The pride of the Don culture are numerous historical and cultural objects, memorable places, including various specialized museums-reserves, local history and thematic museums, historical, architectural and artistic monuments, historical sites, memorial and ethnographic complexes, which are shown in Figure 1. New museums have opened in the Rostov Region, using innovative forms of activity, such as the Russia -My History Museum. In terms of construction costs, it has become one of the most expensive in the Russian Federation. For 5 months of its work, he received over 100 thousand visitors, which allowed him to reach the level of attendance at the Rostov Regional Museum of Local History. The innovative activity of museums is expanding, the number of interactive excursions is increasing, which largely positively characterizes the quality level of information services for visitors, among whom are mainly schoolchildren, students.
To meet the recreational needs of the modern consumer of cultural services, museums of the Rostov region use such innovative forms of cultural and educational activities as concerts, balls, museum festivals or theatrical performances, performances with the participation of not only professional actors, but also the visitors themselves The development of the museum network of the Rostov region depends on the level of formation of the socio-cultural environment of the region, the tourist development of the historical and cultural resources of the territory, and transport accessibility.
The drawing of the placement of museums practically repeats the system of places of settlement and recreation of the population; in areas with a predominantly urban population, the museum network is more numerous and diverse than in rural areas, which predetermines a higher level of involvement of the cultural heritage layer in tourism activities. The regions where higher education institutions are located and where a significant proportion of residents have higher education are distinguished by a significant number of museums. Temporary population, visiting tourists are the main contingent of visitors for many museums, especially in the traditional recreation areas of the Rostov region.
The geographical location of the museum, you, as well as its uniqueness, determine the intensity and structure of tourist and excursion flows. The solution to this problem was carried out on the basis of studying the geography of the distribution of tourist and excursion flows around museums of various profiles located in urban districts, rural areas, suburban areas, railway junctions, tourist centers of the Rostov region. The quantitative indicators of excursion activity were analyzed, reflecting the proportion of tourists from the population living in zones of different distances from the museum. With the help of the curves of excursion activity built on these indicators, the zones of distribution of tourist and excursion flows around museums or the zones of influence of museums on excursion activities were identified. It turned out that all museums have zones of influence different in size and length and a different pattern of the decline in the excursion activity curve. This made it possible to combine all museums into three types (table 1). Table 1. Areas of distribution of tourist flows around the museums of the Rostov region.

Item No.
Museum type Characteristics of the type of museums 1 1 type museums have a very wide coverage area that covers almost the entire region; the curve of excursion activity has a flattened character and fades at a great distance. These museums include the most popular museums, as well as museums located in the center of the region, large cities, railway junctions, i.e. the most conveniently located in terms of their visit.

type
museums have an average zone of influence. The main mass is made up of interregional excursion flows. These are, first of all, museums located in medium and small towns, as well as rural museums involved in the network of major tourist routes. 3 3 type museums with a small area of influence. The bulk of the excursion flows are local-level flows. This type unites museums located in the rural outback, away from major transport routes.
The classification of a museum as one type or another is due to two factors: the importance of the museum and its location. These two factors can strengthen or, conversely, weaken the popularity and attendance of the museum, increase or decrease the area of distribution of tourist and excursion flows rushing into it, and therefore the excursion activity of the population. Therefore, considering a museum, its excursion activities, assessing its popularity among the population, it is necessary to take into account the factor of its position as a fundamental one. Currently, it is clearly not taken into account. The subject of evaluation is, first of all, the significance of the museum in terms of the uniqueness of the exposition and funds, the richness of the collection. At the same time, it is assumed that the high significance of the museum should also testify to its high popularity, which does not always coincide. Taking into account the location of the designed museums makes it possible to predict the potential flows of their visitors.
Currently, the museums of the Rostov region show a positive dynamics of development. The annual attendance of museums in the Rostov region is more than 800 thousand people, for comparison, the number of readers in libraries is 689.5 thousand people. The attendance of museums in the Rostov region has grown by 5% over the past 3 years. This became possible due to the expansion of museum areas and an increase in funds, as well as the expansion of cooperation between regional museums and tourist information centers. For 5 years, the main fund of museums has increased by 49 thousand exhibits, and the area of museum spaces has increased by 5 thousand square meters. A significant proportion of those who, on average, 14-16 times a year visit museums, are young parents with children of primary and secondary school age.
The growth rates and absolute indicators of individual visits to museums exceed the indicators of the number of tourists from excursion groups. This suggests that museums should largely focus on individual visitors, developing an interactive component of the exposition. On the other hand, this shows the existing potential for growth in excursion services. It is necessary to pay attention to the fact that significant changes are taking place with the characteristics of consumers of museum and tourism services in general. The needs of the target audience of museums and the tourism sector have changed significantly, and the target audience itself has increased in its volume due to the expansion of parameters such as age, professional status and place of residence. The cultural and educational level of the target audience has increased, the overwhelming majority of which are active Internet users. Moreover, close attention should be paid to a significant decrease in the age of representatives of the target audience with a sharp increase in their level of education and mobility. Along with the functions of a curator and a scientific center, traditionally characteristic of museums, the importance of the interactive component is growing: for modern tourists and city residents, an interesting, eventful museum is attractive, which is able to competently interact with different target audiences. It is important to offer a variety of experiences to visitors: visual, sensory, aesthetic, recreational, educational ( Figure 2).  -escape from reality (escapism) -the consumer is completely immersed in the impression and actively participates in it; -aesthetics -the consumer is immersed in the environment, but has almost no influence on it, that is, he receives only aesthetic pleasure from contemplation.
The vertical axis reflects the type of connection between the consumer of the service and the process of its provision -from absorption (when the impression is transferred to the consumer's inner world) to immersion (when the consumer physically or virtually himself becomes part of the impression). On the horizontal axis, from left to right, the degree of consumer engagement increases, from passive participation to active participation. It is the combination of education, entertainment, escapism and aesthetics that complements the function of a keeper of history and a scientific center that is the basis of the attractiveness of museums for the modern consumer, especially for youth and children. Thus, the integration of museums into modern marketing strategies for regional tourism should take into account the changes that are taking place in this area: an increase in tourist interest in the "culture of everyday life" and intangible cultural heritage and a decrease in interest in simple sightseeing; a more significant role of digital technologies in cultural tourism; the increasing importance of experiences and a corresponding increase in demand for a comprehensive "creative tourism" product.
In addition, another trend is noteworthy: although the main volume of cultural and educational tourism, as in previous decades, still falls on large cities, an increasing number of small cities and territories that did not previously arouse the interest of tourists are getting a chance to create interesting alternatives to development models. large cities and form the image of an attractive tourist destination through the targeted use of innovative technologies. For rural areas of the Rostov region, with their limited resources, it is advisable to use the advantages of network interaction, search for original combinations and develop interactive offers for tourists, built into a single event calendar of the region. In this case, the field of opportunities for realizing the creative potential of local communities and local cultural organizations expands. A year-round event calendar helps to equalize tourist flows, increasing the interest of tourists in visiting museums in the "low" season and stimulating repeat visits, ensures predictability of the loading of hotels and service enterprises.

Discussion
The research carried out convinces us that, indeed, the museum network of the Rostov region, at the present stage of its evolution, initiates the emergence and development of museum and tourist complexes as a special type of recreational systems. At the same time, it turned out that the compact arrangement of all elements of the recreational system in one territory is not necessary for the formation of a museum and tourist complex. First of all, spatial and organizational ties, their reliability and stability determine the real, integration of the network of museums and tourist institutions. At the moment it is too early to speak about the final formation and maturity of systems of this kind. Often the relationship between museums and tourism is of a simple interaction.
The main trend in the development of the museum and tourism business is to establish systemic links between them, which are reflected in the formation of museum and tourist complexes as specialized recreational systems, a characteristic feature of which is the intensification of both spheres of activity. The most important factors in the formation of museum and tourist complexes are the uniqueness of the place, its geographical position, the formation and development of the historical and cultural environment of the territory. The "centrality" or "peripherality" of the situation, transport accessibility can stimulate or, on the contrary, limit the development of museum and tourist complexes.
The innovative activities of museums play a leading role in shaping the tourist attractiveness of the region. The expansion of the museum network of the Rostov region promotes awareness of the importance of cultural and historical heritage in all its diversity and initiates a demand for educational activities, including tourism and excursions. Museum and tourist complexes are able not only to adapt to their natural and social environment, but also to actively influence it. This influence is not limited to educational activities. The museum and the museum and tourist complex created on its basis are able to influence the processes occurring in the settlement system, change the structure of employment of the population. It is necessary to provide potential Russian and foreign tourists with the opportunity to consume tourist services in a convenient, dynamic and modern information environment, including: -to create conditions for centralization and unification of information resources of the information and telecommunication network "Internet" for the search for tours in the Rostov region; -to provide a transparent system for assessing the quality of the offered tourist services, including through a classification system and mandatory certification; -to provide the possibility of partial acquaintance with the exposition of museums, sights, the natural world, tourist routes in the online mode (visualization technologies, virtual excursions, videos, photographs); -to create conditions for preliminary booking and payment of all types of tourist services by individual tourists and organizations; -to provide all the necessary information for amateur tourists -transport schedules, maps of the area, guidebooks, rules of conduct, opening hours of tourist facilities and museums.
The increase in innovative activities of museums in the Rostov region, participation in innovative projects (national and international), on the one hand, will ensure the preservation of historical heritage, support for national traditions and culture, folk crafts and crafts, local customs and folklore. On the other hand, the expansion of the activities of the museums of the Rostov region, an increase in the list of services rendered by museums will contribute to the tourist attractiveness of the region and will provide a contribution to the development of regional tourism.
Changes in the organization of the museum network in the region, including the active support of the local authorities and the business community for small museums, will further expand the possibilities of combination within the framework of tours offered to clients.

Conclusions
Within the museum and tourist complexes, the interdependence between the development of museum and tourist activities is manifested even more strongly and is expressed in the intensification of both tourist and museum affairs. The flow of tourists, which creates a high cognitive demand for cultural heritage sites, stimulates the emergence of new museum expositions and exhibitions, and even new museums.On the other hand, the increase in the number of museum sites leads to the complication of the network of tourist routes, the emergence of new tourist institutions -tourist bases, motels, campgrounds and, ultimately, an increase in the number of tourists.
Consequently, over time, the relationship between museum and tourist activities is constantly increasing: museums are included in the system of tourist and excursion routes; new tourist routes appear on the basis of new museums and, conversely, the emergence of new museums can often be the result of intensive tourist activity. The result of the interaction of museum business and tourism is the formation of territorial recreational systems -museum and tourist complexes.
As a result, in recent years, there has been a tendency to increase interest in museums in the Rostov region, and an increase in tourist traffic in general. Due to an integrated approach to non-traditional museum display, which allows to attract all age and social groups of the population to museums, the museum audience has been steadily increasing over the past five years.
In order for museums to make a serious contribution to increasing and distributing tourist traffic, it is necessary to search for effective combinations of different elements of the museum and tourist product; mastering interactive approaches that merge the material and non-material components, involve the target audience in joint innovation activities; inclusion of programs offered by museums in the event calendar of the territory. This approach can further increase the flow of tourists to the region. In turn, the growth of the tourist attractiveness of the cities in which the museums are located is the key to their further development.