The role of ecological tourism in achieving sustainable development goals in the EAEU

The authors propose to consider certain aspects of sustainable tourism development and assess their contribution to the development of the economies of the EAEU countries. The article provides an assessment of the development of ecological tourism in the EAEU countries, based on existing indicators, including evaluation of the level of competitiveness of tourism, the development of special protection conservation areas, data on environmental education and tourism activities on the territory of the state wildlife sanctuaries and national parks. The authors draw conclusions about the need to create a unified policy and regulatory framework for the development of ecological tourism in the EAEU, to work out a system of indicators and to create tourism assessment methodology for sustainable development. Besides, it is important to introduce a set of measures for information, marketing and staffing to develop ecotourism in the EAEU countries. Competitiveness in ecotourism remains low.


Introduction
The concept of sustainable development, which is as a process of socio-economic changes that meets the needs of the present without endangering the well-being of future generations, forms a new field of research, both for individual states and their industries, and within the framework of integration associations. In the modern context the concept of sustainable development as a sustainable transformation of society aimed at ensuring a new quality of life was used in the UN document "The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development" in 2015 and became one of the most widely discussed in the world scientific community [1]. One of the topical directions for the formation of sustainable development of countries and regions of the world is the creation of conditions for ecological tourism.
reconsideration of the concept of sustainable tourism in reference to new realities. According to B. Bramwell and B. Lane, sustainable tourism emerged as a reaction to the negative impact on local culture, society, and the environment of the traditional tourism industry [2].
In 2001, The World Tourism Organization defined sustainable development as tourism development that meets the needs of today's tourists and host regions, protecting and expanding tourism opportunities in the long term. It is assumed that economic, social and aesthetic needs can be met while maintaining cultural integrity, basic ecological processes, biodiversity and life support systems. In 2005, the UN Environment Program and the World Tourism Organization determined that sustainable tourism must fully take into account its current and future economic, social and environmental impacts, while meeting the needs of tourists, industry, the environment and host communities.
In the work of Liu Ch., Tseng G., Li P., and Li M., sustainable tourism is defined differently and implies all types of tourism that are compatible with sustainable development or contribute to it [3]. Sustainable Tourism Guidelines and Management Practices are applicable to all forms of tourism in all destinations, including mass tourism and various tourism segments. The principles of sustainability refer to environmental, economic and sociocultural aspects that must be balanced to ensure its long-term sustainability.
The concepts of "ecological tourism", "sustainable tourism", "responsible tourism" are inextricably linked with each other and are often used synonymously.
According to the International Society for Ecotourism (TIES), ecotourism is defined as: "responsible travel to natural areas that preserves the environment, supports the well-being of the local population and includes an educational dimension" [4]. The numerous definitions of ecotourism can be divided into two groups. In the first case, we are talking about trips to the places untouched by civilization, in the other case, these are efforts to maintain ecological balance in nature.
Responsible tourism is about creating economic benefits and enhancing the well-being of host communities, improving working conditions, positively contributing to the preservation of natural and cultural heritage, as well as ensuring access for people with disabilities and promoting respect between tourists and local communities.
Recently, a large number of publications have appeared on certain aspects of the development of ecological tourism.
The effects of ecotourism development are reviewed by Ralf Chtistother Buckley [5], Md. Ghulam Rabbany, Sharmin Afrin, Airin Rahman and others [6]. A comparative analysis of ecotourism practices for the sustainable development of individual territories and countries of the world is undertaken in the works of Sultan Sevinc Kurt Konakoglu, Maria Hełdak, Banu Cicek Kurdoglu and Joanna Wysmułek [7], Rubtsova M. [8], Mondino E. and Beery T. [9], Malra R. [10], Adil Siswanto, Moeljadi [11]. However, there is not enough research on the development of ecological tourism within the EAEU.

Methods and results
The variety of interpretations of the concepts of "sustainable tourism", "ecological tourism" and "responsible tourism" in the scientific literature testifies to the ongoing discussion and development of the terminological apparatus of the study. Currently, there is no universal methodology that makes it possible to assess the dynamics of development, as well as the contribution of a particular type of tourism to the sustainable development of the economy, both within a country and in the framework of an integration association, which allows analysis based only on indirect indicators.
The study of the topic of ecological tourism today is hampered by the fact that a unified methodology and system of indicators has not been formed to assess this direction of development of tourist activity. In this regard, we can use only indirect estimates and parameters indicating the development of this kind of tourism.
To assess the role of ecological tourism in the country's economy in order to achieve sustainable development goals, we used the following research methods: monographic method (to clarify the main content and conceptual apparatus of the study to determine the role of ecological tourism in the economy to achieve sustainable development goals); method of analysis and economic and statistical methods (used to analyze and assess the contribution of ecological tourism to the country's economy and determine their comparative advantages in this direction to achieve sustainable development indicators).
The information base for the study is scientific publications on the topic of ecological tourism and sustainable development, as well as data from the official statistical agencies of the EAEU countries and international organizations.
According to The Travel & Tourism Competitiveness Report 2019, Eurasia is the least competitive, but the most promising sub-region in Europe in terms of tourism and travelling development. In terms of the "Favorable Environment" rating (health and hygiene), the countries of the Eurasian region are higher than the world average, and also surpass the average European indicators in terms of price competitiveness. Among the problematic aspects of the development of tourism and travelling, one can note the lack of international openness, undeveloped infrastructure and underutilization of natural and cultural resources. In recent years, the Eurasian region has rapidly increased its competitiveness, which is associated with the recovery of tourism and travel after economic downturns and instability, increased security (this indicator is still the lowest in Europe), readiness to use ICT, price competitiveness and investment in tourism infrastructure.
The Russian Federation (39th in the ranking) is the most competitive tourism economy in Eurasia; it accounts for most of the region's GDP. While the country lags behind subregional and global averages for the business environment (92nd), safety and security (98th), and international openness (123rd), Russia has a developed air transport infrastructure (23rd). Kazakhstan demonstrates the lowest rate of competitiveness improvement, moving up one position to rank 80 in the world. The country became more competitive in most indicators of the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index 2019, but growth was constrained by the deterioration of the business environment (from 36th to 49th), the labor market (from 47th to 57th) and health and hygiene (from 6th to 12th).
Armenia took 79th place in the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, compared to 84th place in the previous years and showing strong positions in price competitiveness (30th place), business environment (31st place). The Kyrgyz Republic performed better than two years ago, but remains the least competitive economy in Eurasia in tourism (110th). In particular, the country needs additional investment in underdeveloped infrastructure (131st place). The Republic of Belarus is not presented in this report.
Following global practice, for the sustainable development of tourism in the EAEU countries, a system of specially protected natural areas (SPNA) is used. These territories are intended for the preservation of typical and unique natural landscapes, the diversity of flora and fauna, the protection of natural and cultural heritage sites. In our opinion, the development and support of protected areas in the EAEU countries is a prerequisite for the development of ecological tourism in order to achieve the goals of sustainable development of the countries of the region.
The EAEU countries have significant potential for ecological tourism (Table 1). Russia has the greatest potential among the EAEU countries. According to the Federal State Statistics Service, in 2020 there were 11,825 protected areas in the Russian Federation, incl. federal significance -296, regional -10439, local -1090.  It should be noted that today there is no official statistical information on sustainable (including ecological) tourism in the EAEU countries. Indirect indicators that allow assessing the volume of ecological tourism are available only in the official statistics of the Russian Federation. Data on environmental education and tourism activities on the territory of state nature reserves and national parks of the Russian Federation are presented in table 2. It shows that recently there has been a slowdown in tourist activity in the Russian Federation, which is due to the pandemic and the closure of borders. However, if we compare the data of the past 5 years, then a slight increase in ecotourism is still noticeable.
for investment based on government support, targeted development programs, funds from private investors and credit and banking structures, etc.; 4. develop marketing of ecological tourism. It is necessary to form a brand of ecological tourism of the EAEU countries through the creation of unified information resources for its promotion, participation in international thematic exhibitions and fairs, the development of attractive tourist programs taking into account the ecological, natural, and cultural characteristics of the territories of the EAEU countries. 5. develop human resources to improve and promote ecological tourism. The shortage of qualified personnel is a problem in the EAEU countries. Thus, it is necessary to form appropriate areas of training and retraining of specialists at the level of unified educational approaches in the EAEU member states.