A ten-point scale for assessing female appearance. A ten-point scale for evaluating a woman's appearance is really beautiful

attractiveness the market is characterized by a set of indicators (indicators, metrics), according to which the company decides to work in this market. At the same time, the sales market is considered to be both the entire market within the commodity-geographical boundaries, and each segment of this market.

Attractiveness assessment is necessary when choosing a market/segment that the company intends to develop. At the same time, a comparative analysis of several potentially interesting sales markets is carried out, from which the most attractive one is selected. The main problem of assessing attractiveness is the choice of indicators, both in name and quantity. Currently, there is no single approach that allows you to reliably and objectively choose the most suitable market for a given company. Therefore, in each specific case, attractiveness indicators are selected taking into account the following initial data:

A. The planning horizon of the company's activities in this market.

B. Type of market (industrial, consumer).

B. Planned scale of market activity.

D. Size of the company (for example, by turnover).

Formation of a strategic vision of development prospects

The market includes, first of all, the definition and evaluation of various factors related to its condition, changes in the general economic situation and the emergence of new competitors. Thus, we are talking about assessing the attractiveness of the sales market according to certain indicators, the most important in terms of making a decision on the formation of a sales system for the company. Based on Ozhegov's Explanatory Dictionary, "attractive is one that attracts, disposes to oneself, likes it." Hence, attractiveness the sales market is estimated by the company itself, i.e. From this point of view, it is quite a subjective characteristic. The same market environment will be attractive for one company and unattractive for another. The company can assess the attractiveness of the sales market positively if its indicators are equal to or exceed some of the "standard" values ​​established by the company itself. For example, P. Doyle defines an attractive market as "a market in which the average company consistently receives income in excess of the cost of capital (i.e. creates value for shareholders)" .

When analyzing the attractiveness of a market, one important circumstance must also be kept in mind, namely: attractiveness can and should be assessed both for the market as a whole (with an undifferentiated marketing strategy) and its segments (with differentiated or concentrated marketing strategies). Therefore, assessing the attractiveness of the market as a whole, it is necessary to make an analysis of those consumer segments to which the company's marketing efforts are directed.

Factors of attractiveness of the market or its segments can be divided into two groups:

  • a) factors that do not change over time (for example, territory) or change so slowly that in some period of time they can be considered constant (natural resources, climatic conditions, etc.);
  • b) changeable factors that are subject to change over time. Some of them are changing slowly but at a noticeable pace, such as transport, technical, scientific and innovative infrastructure, social, political and environmental conditions, consumer behavior, their income, shopping habits, etc. Other factors can change quite quickly or abruptly (local legislation, local government policy, competitive environment, seasonality of demand, etc.).

To select the most attractive sales market, a comparative analysis of several potentially interesting markets or segments is carried out. The larger the company, the more attention is paid to it by the macro environment. Despite the fact that various aspects related to the attractiveness of markets, industries and the market environment are generally considered in the works of many researchers (D. Aaker, G.L. Bagiev, D.I. Barkan, I.K. Belyaevsky, J. Wind, T.P. Danko, P. Doyle, J. Day, F. Kotler, J.-J. Lambin, J. O'Shaughnessy, etc.), there is still no single methodology for their assessment. The problem is that there are too many factors on which the attractiveness of the market depends and this requires the collection of a large amount of information in order to make an appropriate decision. In table. 2.6 the indicators of attractiveness of the market offered by some researchers are resulted.

Market Attractiveness Indicators

Table 2.6

Source

Indicators

GL. Bagiev

Quantitative data about the market (capacity, growth, etc.);

qualitative data about the market (need structure, purchase motives, etc.); competition analysis (strategies, strengths and weaknesses);

buyer structure (number, size of buyers, etc.);

industry structure (number of sellers, capacity utilization, etc.);

distribution structure (by distribution channels, geographical distribution); reliability, safety (barriers to access, the possibility of the emergence of substitute products)

T.P. Danko

Market size and growth rate Cyclicity or seasonality of demand State regulation of the market Availability of raw materials Number of strong competitors High concentration of buyers Level of potential profitability

J.-J. lamben

Projected sales volumes Life cycle and profit potential for each segment or product market

DI. Barkan

Geography

Dimensions (number of potential buyers)

Density of buyers and their market behavior

I.K. Belyaevsky

Factors characterizing the product offer

Factors characterizing demand Proportionality of the sales market Business activity of the sales market Level of competition and monopolization Characteristics of the distribution system (distribution)

Level of commercial risk

J. Day approaches the analysis of factors that determine market attractiveness in terms of their impact on profits (Table 2.7).

Factors affecting the market attractiveness

Table 2.7

Attractive factors

Downgraded

profitability

Will raise

profitability

Rivalry among competitors

By structure

Numerous or equally balanced

One member dominates

For fixed costs

By differentiation

Minor

Essential

Buying switching costs

Variety of strategies and goals

Significant

Limited

On barriers to exit from the market

Attractive factors

Downgraded

profitability

Will raise

profitability

Barriers to market entry

Costs associated with factors of production

New member has benefits

Old timer has advantages

Barrier Height

Minor

Differentiation

Minor

Essential

Overflow of distribution channels

Easy Access

Difficulty with access

Past reaction of old-timers

Passive

Aggressive

consumer power Possibility of market influence:

Number of buyers

Minor

Numerous

Purchasing volume

small

Ability to switch to a substitute or other providers

Limited

Threat of regressive integration

Quite reliable

impossibility

Knowledge about supplier activities

Minor

Price sensitivity:

Impact on end product performance

modest

Product costs as a share of total costs

Profitability

Perceived product differentiation

Minor

Significant

Supplier Power

Size vs. consumer size

Small

Supplier dependency

Credibility of the Threat of Progressive Integration

Threats from substitutes

Economic incentives to switch

Switching resistance

Low and continuing to decline

High and rising

A review of approaches related to assessing the attractiveness of the sales market shows that almost all researchers distinguish that

some indicators, such as characteristics of intermediaries, characteristics of competition, entry barriers and risks. In table. 2.8 summarizes the indicators that it is advisable to consider in terms of market attractiveness for a supplier of goods or products.

Sales market attractiveness indicators

Table 2.8

Objects of analysis

Characteristic

Features of the sale of goods

Commodity borders.

Geometric parameters of the goods.

Weight parameters of the goods.

Special transport conditions (e.g. breakable, explosive, etc.).

Special storage conditions (for example, requiring storage in freezers).

Special conditions of sale.

Special conditions for assembly, operation and maintenance. Other

characteristic

Geographic boundaries.

Population size.

level of urbanization.

Current capacity, potential capacity. Market saturation.

Market Capacity Growth Rate (FCG). Average return on sales. Resource availability.

Transport accessibility.

The amount of investment for market development.

Characteristic

competition

type of market competition.

The number of competitors, their shares, the presence of local competitors, the presence of leading firms.

The level of market concentration.

Positioning of firms present in the market. Competitiveness of competitors' products. Goods-substitutes. Cross elasticity of demand. Distribution of market shares between brands. Market power of competitors' brands.

Relative spending by competitors on marketing. Strengths and weaknesses of competitors.

The strength of the business of competing firms

Entry barriers and risks

Economic and legal restrictions. administrative barriers. Technological barriers. marketing barriers.

Market structured barriers. logistical barriers.

commodity barriers.

Market risks

Objects of analysis

Characteristic

Poku

patels

In the middle

Nicky

Wholesale market

Capacity and dynamics of changes in the wholesale market. The level of market structure.

Average power of wholesalers.

The power of wholesalers.

Marketing activity.

The level of logistics capabilities.

retail market

Capacity and dynamics of changes in the retail market. Share and dynamics of growth of network retail companies.

Density of retail establishments. Features of the territorial location of retail trade enterprises.

Average cost of an "entry ticket"

Consume

bodies

Consumers-population

Number and dynamics of changes in the number of consumers.

Density of distribution of consumers.

income and consumption levels.

Income growth rate.

Enterprise consumers Number of enterprises.

Scope and methods of procurement.

Solvency.

Features of the territorial location of enterprises

Selected in the table. 2.8 indicators allow you to objectively assess the attractiveness of the sales market. It is worth noting such an important factor as the required amount of investment for the development of the market, which, in terms of its indicators, is attractive for the company. Therefore, before entering a new market, you need to have answers to the following questions:

  • How much capital is needed to secure the required market share?
  • when will the costs pay off?
  • When is the first profit possible?
  • Who will give the capital and when will it be necessary to return it to the borrower?
  • Ozhegov's explanatory dictionary: http://www.ozhegov.ru
  • Doyle P. Value Based Marketing / P. Doyle: Per. from English. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2001. S. 214.
  • Day J. Strategic Marketing / J. Day: Per. from English. - M.: EKSMO-Press, 2002. S. 207.

When making a decision to acquire a company, the acquiring company evaluates not only information about tangible assets, but also many other factors.

A feature of the current competitive struggle in the IT sector is the shift in emphasis to the accumulation of intangible assets and the establishment of stable long-term contacts with customers. Often, when assessing the value of a company, intangible assets are also called intellectual capital. This term usually implies accumulated useful knowledge. Such a definition suggests that it is the presence of intellectual capital that can cause a discrepancy between the value of the company's assets reflected in the financial statements and its real market value. In recent decades, the share of intellectual capital in the total market value of firms has been growing.

Today, the method of assessing intellectual capital using the so-called strategic maps is becoming increasingly popular. Initially, strategic maps (SC) were developed as part of a balanced scorecard (BSC) for the strategic management of a company. BSC uses cause-and-effect relationships between strategic goals, reflecting their parameters and factors for obtaining planned results. The system is based on four components: financial, client, internal business processes and staff training and development. Their goals and objectives are reflected in financial and non-financial indicators. The latter can be considered the number of buyers, market share for any product, the number of certified specialists, etc.

SCs are designed to align a company's short-term goals with its long-term strategy within these four main business areas. SC characterize the company in the process of development - yesterday (financial aspect), today (the aspect of customer relations and the aspect of organizing internal business processes) and tomorrow (the aspect of training and development). In addition to organizing control over the achievement of established indicators, the dynamics of indicators that are important for the implementation of the company's strategy also play an important role. One of the key points is the choice of SC indicators to assess the company's position in the market. Usually, 15-20 indicators for each of the components are used for this.

A very important factor is the dynamics of the company's development. Therefore, in order to assess the attractiveness of a company for an investor, one should compare the main indicators characterizing tangible and intangible assets over the past two to three years. One of the most convenient tools for such a comparison is the SC. The dynamics of changes in their indicators indicates whether the development of the company is going in the right direction.

Financial aspect

An example of SC for the financial component is given in table 1.

Positions 7 and 8 are among the most important for an investor. The cash flow characterizes the receipt of funds to the settlement accounts of the company for the year, and the dynamics of its change should not differ significantly from the dynamics of sales. Otherwise, one should look to see if the entire increase in sales will be offset by an excessive increase in receivables or other assets.

This indicator is equally important for all groups of IT companies: system integrators, offshore programming firms, distributors. At the same time, the first two groups, due to the specifics of the business - contract deliveries - can relatively easily improve this indicator. It is necessary to speed up payments from customers for deliveries and work performed, to increase the share of advance payments. For distributors, the cash flow is determined by the amount of receivables, and, as a rule, significant changes (improvements) are much more difficult to achieve here.

Return on Equity and Assets: A distributor can improve these figures primarily by increasing net income, which is not at all easy, or by reducing equity and assets. If system integrators and programming firms have small assets, then the distributor's assets are formed primarily by cash balances in bank accounts and inventory. Less assets - better rate of return. Therefore, the simplest recommendation would be to make all obligatory payments by the time of the quarterly report, which will achieve a reduction in account balances. To reduce the size of assets, you should also reduce inventory by the end of the quarter.

The return on equity is calculated as net income divided by equity, where equity is the difference between a firm's total assets and its liabilities. In addition to the "own" capital of the company's shareholders, the calculations also take into account retained earnings of the current and previous periods. And if distribution companies have profits more or less evenly distributed over time, then integration and programming firms with long-term projects often receive most of their annual profits with one payment at the end of the year. And here it is important to carry out formal actions to distribute profits by the end of the current period, directing it to the payment of bonuses, training, equipment purchases, etc. Otherwise, a large amount of retained earnings will fall into equity and reduce the rate of return.
It should also be noted that the value of assets is used in assessing the value of the company, so such actions should be approached with caution.

Customer Relations

This SC (Table 2) includes the most important indicators of intangible assets. For example, the customer base may be a separate sale and purchase product. The share of sales to the ten largest buyers characterizes the stability of relations, the independence of the company from one or several largest customers, and the diversification of sales.

The figures in the table cannot be improved quickly and easily on the eve of the sale of the firm or at the end of the quarter. The number of buyers can grow significantly only in an unstructured market or in a young company. If an integrator or distributor has, as a rule, already formed a client base, then for a company engaged in offshore programming, the growth of this indicator should be significant. It should be noted that the number 10 itself is very conditional and is used with a sufficiently large number of clients. Often used indicator 20/80, which characterizes the volume of sales attributable to the share of 20% of the largest customers. It is believed that the more evenly distributed sales among buyers, the more stable the customer base. If the growth in the number of buyers plays a big role in the business, especially of young companies, then the growth of market share is important for large firms.

Perhaps the most important thing is that the UK clearly demonstrates the dynamics, the growth of indicators over the past two to three years. For distributors, the most significant indicator is the growth of market share for the most important products. For companies working with end users - integrators and programmers - the most significant growth of new customers and sales to one customer.

Aspect of business processes

Table 3 shows an example of a map that describes a firm's business processes. Business processes are the most specific feature of every company, and it is difficult to cover them comprehensively in one article or even a book.

Let's dwell on some general provisions. For a distribution company, the main indicator of the effectiveness of its business processes is the warehouse turnover, which includes the time for delivery of goods. The turnover is compared with the duration of the vendor's credit line (in days), and if the turnover is less than the line, then it is usually concluded that the business in this company is generally well organized. Well, if the turnover, together with the average receivables, exceeds the vendor's credit line, which allows minimizing external borrowing, then it is believed that the business in this company is generally well organized.

For integrator and programming firms, indicators of the duration and labor intensity of projects are important, which characterize the stability and scale of the company's work.

Development aspect

The example of the SC of the development dimension (see Table 4) contains nine indicators. The most important for a distributor are investments in the development of new markets, both geographical and product, showing the process of business diversification. It is important that diversification leads to synergy, the unification of various business branches into a single information and financial space, where different divisions positively influence each other and from the addition of their assets, the total asset of the company is more than a simple arithmetic sum.

For integrators and programming firms, of course, the most important indicators are investments in training and certification of employees. An attractive item is also the indicator of research and development costs that large players can afford. The dynamics of development spending should be correlated with the dynamics of growth in the firm's sales volume.

The attractiveness of the company as an integral indicator and the main motive for buying it cannot be significantly increased in a short time of pre-sale preparation. Only some financial indicators can be improved quickly, but the remaining 15-20 positions in each of the four SCs require targeted work both within the company and in the market. Recent publications and the practice of mergers and acquisitions show that the SC is a convenient tool that allows you to formalize the process of assessing attractiveness.

Table 1. SC: financial component


Table 2. IC: intangible assets.
Table 3. SC: business processes.
Table 4. SC: development aspect.
Index 2003 2004 2005
1 Research costs. and developer, USD
2 Oud. weight of R&D expenses in total expenses, %
3 Duration of R&D projects
4 Resources for R&D in total resources, %
5 Costs for the preparation and development of new products, USD
6 Investments in the development of new markets, USD
7 Expenses for training of the 1st employee, USD
8 Number of certified employees, Certificate 1
9 Number of certified employees, Certificate 2

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You can go broke as much as you like about the signs of beauty and try to replace it with money, intelligence, talent, popularity, fashion and other nonsense. Beauty will remain beauty at all times, the only thing is - what are its standards? What attracts the female and male sex in each other - we will focus on this issue, but we will approach it from the point of view of modern science.

Without realizing it, representatives of both sexes attribute positive qualities to physically attractive people, for example, high intelligence and exceptional honesty. The common girl's assessment of "clever-beauty" should actually sound the opposite - "beauty-clever", as if the first automatically determines the second.

Meanwhile, the real relationship between high attractiveness and other qualities at the “above average” level is observed to a greater extent in men than in women. According to evolutionary psychologists, high intelligence, along with attractive appearance, is an indicator of basic genetic fitness. The owners of bodies with high physical characteristics, as it were, signal to others - "I am healthy and prolific, I am ideal for procreation."

Men are interested in women who are: shorter than them, younger, with symmetrical features, with full breasts and lips, with a pronounced waist.

In turn, males with the following physical data are attractive to women: taller than them, with a fairly symmetrical “male” face, with broad shoulders and a narrow waist (V-shaped torso).

Symmetry in the features of the human body informs observers of his/her high physical health, although absolute perfection is alarming - thoughts about some hidden trick arise latently. In addition to the listed highlights, the following characteristics of beauty will be important: biological age, skin condition, bright colors of hair and eyes.

male face

According to a number of studies conducted by European and American scientists, women of ovulatory (childbearing) age prefer to choose men with facial features that demonstrate a high influence of testosterone at all stages of its development - a wide and convex forehead, honed lines of a protruding chin and fairly wide cheekbones (let's call them "masculine traits"). Surveys of women in certain phases of the menstrual cycle have shown that about 10 days before the onset of menstruation (follicular phase), girls are more interested in the opposite sex with "male features" of the face than during menstruation, the luteal phase, or when taking hormonal contraceptives .

In addition to hormonal reactions of the body, women's choice is influenced by socio-cultural factors of an artificial nature - for example, they look for traits of popular actors and musicians in a male environment.

Convinced of their attractiveness, girls tend to choose men with the most pronounced sexual dimorphism - those who have a larger set of typical "male traits". However, if the choice of women was based only on the “male features” of the stronger sex, then children from such unions would be born more like their fathers than their mothers, i.e. daughters would also acquire the “masculine traits” (masculinity or, scientifically, masculinity) of their fathers, losing the feminine beauty of their mothers and becoming something like the brutal Amazons from Futurama.

Symmetry of the face and body

The absence of asymmetrical flaws in the body of a man speaks of a good inheritance in terms of genetics - in reality, the Disney hunchback from Notre Dame had no chance of attracting the attention of a cartoon beauty. Symmetry in male faces means that their owners did not experience any genetic damage due to a lousy ecology during growing up, toxins did not enter their bodies and they did not suffer from malnutrition. Otherwise, it is impossible to achieve facial symmetry - the control of the growth of billions of cells during the development of the body of a teenager is not available to the most modern medicine.

Numerous studies in the field of sexology have shown that women who are at the peak stage of fertility (age 24-28) dream of relationships with men who have symmetrical facial features. Moreover, at the moment of intimacy, girls experience an orgasm faster and more often with owners of symmetrical faces, and the latter do not have to do anything special. Finally, the owners of symmetrical facial features earlier than other men enter into sexual activity. However, and this should be noted separately, male representatives with regular facial features are extremely prone to cheating on their regular partners - as a rule, they fail to ignore the increased attention of women.

hairy body

Hair on the body of a man, combined with developed muscles, lack of fat folds, high growth and a V-shaped torso, is generally perceived by women as a virtue for the opposite sex. Although most of the fair sex still prefer men of "moderate hairiness". Separately, it is necessary to single out girls whose fathers had excessive body hair - for them, the guy's abundant hairiness is a virtue.

Penis

With its size and diameter, women all over the world associate the attractiveness of a particular man. Repeated surveys of the fair sex in terms of "small, medium and large" in relation to the male penis showed that women unambiguously chose "large". But studies conducted in 2014, the format of which was somewhat different - women from the test group were offered not just to choose a picture, but to experience 3D models of penises of different sizes and diameters. The result was that the subjects said they preferred long-term relationships with men whose penis is 16 cm long, since larger penises are too large for "frequent use."

Color of the skin

The hormone of "brutality" - testosterone - darkens the skin. For this reason, women are extremely interested in black men. However, in modern society, the dark skin color for representatives of Caucasian peoples means that the “owner of the body” works a lot in the sun, i.e. his social status is low. Therefore, the light skin tones of men on hot days of summer in some way testify to their high social status - spending a lot of time in offices, it is difficult, if not impossible, to get a tan.

The described criteria of male beauty belong to the category of “meet by clothes” or, more precisely, by “appearance they meet and evaluate”. Symmetrical in all respects, a handsome man with a developed V-shaped torso can charm women at first sight, but completely change his opinion of himself only by opening his mouth and uttering some kind of awkward nonsense.

Incredible Facts

There has been a lot of talk on the internet lately about the so-called attractiveness scale.

So, let's try to figure out what the very scale of attractiveness is, according to men. It is quite logical that it is applicable to a greater extent in relation to the female sex.


Attractiveness Scale

Someone may object and say that there are no certain criteria for beauty, some like blondes, others like brunettes, some are crazy about women with curves, while others prefer slender and fit ladies.

In general, evaluating female beauty is not an easy task; objectivity is important here.

But what if, for example, a girl with perfect facial features has a very unfortunate figure? On what scale then to evaluate it?

This is a bit like the situation with the jury in figure skating, when the judges have to evaluate the technical part of skating and the artistry of the skater.

However, this is how an approximate interpretation of the same 10-point attractiveness scale looks like:

Score 1-2-3:

ugly



These are, indeed, unfortunate women who are unlucky with external data. As a rule, they have an ugly face and a figure that is far from ideal. Such girls are characterized by excess weight, acne, sparse hair and bad teeth.

Sometimes there is nothing to be done about it (genetics, diseases, something else is to blame); but most often a woman can become more beautiful (diet / sports / proper care, giving up bad habits).

In the event that a woman is not beautiful in appearance, it is very important that she has a good character. An ugly woman with a rich inner world can also attract the opposite sex.

A beautiful personality is sometimes much more important than external data. It is in this case that such women have a happy personal life, they marry very successfully.

How beautiful are you

Grade 4:

simpleton



According to men, a woman whose external data is drawn to a four cannot be called beautiful or cute, but you cannot call her ugly either.

It is rather a simple appearance without any outstanding features. However, if such a girl is well educated, well-read, smart and interesting, she may well become the conqueror of men's hearts.

Score 5:

Average



Most likely, such a girl can hardly be called a beauty or even pretty. But if she takes proper care of herself and knows how to present herself, then such a girl can completely pass for an attractive person.

Grade 6:

Not a beauty



These, as a rule, are not the first beauties, but again, with proper personal care, they can be called cute.

A pleasant character is a significant plus of such women. They can easily attract the opposite sex, despite the lack of regular facial features and a luxurious figure.

beauty scale

Grade 7:

Sweetheart, pretty



Such girls, under certain circumstances, can look beautiful or even hot stuff; we can say that these are women whose bodies men rate at eight, and their face at 5-6.

In films, such girls are usually the girlfriends of the main characters. At the beginning of the film, they wear glasses and look like typical nerds.

However, as soon as they take off their glasses, change their hairstyle and use the right makeup, and ... voila! A cute girl turns into a luxurious princess or a hot little thing.

Grade 8:

Really beautiful



Those who are rated eight are truly beautiful girls. They attract the eyes of others, they want to look at them, it is pleasant to look at them.

Examples include the following celebrities: Anne Hathaway, Kate Middleton, Sandra Bullock. In other words, these are women who, in addition to regular facial features and a good figure, also have that very zest that captivates men so much.

In fact, the eight can be put to most Hollywood and domestic stars. They are good enough to be in demand, but not beautiful enough to give them a nine or even a ten.

Score 9:

One of the most beautiful women in the world



That's when a woman can be called dazzlingly beautiful. Her beauty always comes first. Character, what she does - all this becomes secondary when a woman is beautiful like a goddess.

Most often in the description of such women the epithet sexual sounds. Examples include the following celebrities: Sofia Vergara, Halle Berry, Kim Kardashian, Monica Bellucci Victoria's Secret models with their luxurious figures and angelic faces.

Score 10:

The most beautiful woman in the world



And finally, a woman who excites men's minds can get a ten. In fact, such a woman may not exist at all in nature. And what this mythical ideal lady looks like, hardly any of the men will answer you.

She's just perfect, period!

She is perfect: from luxurious hair to the tips of her fingers and toes.

And, of course, it is worth noting that such a scale of attractiveness is a very relative thing. After all, someone can say that the same Kim Kardashian is disgusting and ugly. And someone will call the models walking skeletons or hangers.

Please note that for most women the ranking is not static. A woman can improve her appearance, thereby raising herself in this rating.

This can be done by maintaining a weight that is close to ideal for her body type/proportions, dressing well, choosing the right hair and makeup.

MINISTERIAL ASSESSMENT

In the annual rating of Russian regions for the development of tourism, compiled by the Ministry of Culture, the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District occupy a very modest position. At the end of 2017, only Primorsky Krai showed a good result, taking 23rd place and falling into the group “Regions with relatively high rates of tourism development”. In the Khabarovsk Territory, the indicators of the development of the tourism industry were assessed by the experts of the Ministry of Culture as average - 47th place. Next to him in 49th place is the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The same group of regions with average indicators included Sakhalin Region (54th place), Amur Region (62nd place), Kamchatka Territory (63rd place), Magadan Region (74th place). The Jewish Autonomous Region (83rd place) and the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug turned out to be outsiders - they took the last 85th place in the rating.

Among all subjects of the Far East, Primorsky Krai is the most attractive region for both domestic and foreign tourists. According to the regional border department of the FSB of Russia, 518 thousand foreign citizens visited Primorye in 2017, which is 12 percent more than in 2016. Among them, the leading positions are occupied by citizens of China. 421 thousand people came to the region from this country. According to the candidate of economic sciences Nikolai Lipatin, such interest of the Chinese in the Primorsky Territory is caused, among other things, by the opportunity to play in the casino.

– Establishment of the Primorye gambling zone near Vladivostok in 2009 was the right decision. The strong growth of the Chinese economy has led to an increase in the welfare of the population, and now the Chinese are ready to spend the earned yuan on tourist trips, and given the love of the inhabitants of the Celestial Empire for gambling, the opening of the Tigre de Cristal casino in Muravyinaya Bay in 2015 came in handy, says Lipatin.

Director of the tourist information center of Primorsky Krai Daria Guseva says that the main visitors to the gambling zone from China are residents of the southern provinces.

- Wealthy tourists come to Primorye from the south of China and play in the casino. They also gladly book tours related to river rafting, fishing and travel in the taiga. In the general flow of tourists from China, they make up a smaller part. Most of the guests from the Celestial Empire are residents of the northern provinces who come to Vladivostok for 3-4 days to go shopping, try Russian cuisine and purchase various dietary supplements from marine flora and fauna,” says Daria Guseva.

Vladivostok is the main tourist attraction in Primorsky Krai. The efforts made by the federal authorities to reconstruct it in time for the APEC summit in 2012 yielded very good results. In 2015, National Geographic magazine included it in the top ten most beautiful sea cities in the world, and Forbes included it in the top ten Russian cities for recreation.

In addition to the capital of Primorye, tourists are attracted by the Safari Park, the National Park "Land of the Leopard", the Dragon Park, Mount Pidan, Petrov Island, Triozerye Bay and many other places that Primorsky Krai is so rich in.

EASTERN RING OF RUSSIA

In 2014, Rostourism tourist brand "Eastern Ring of Russia". Its goal is to unite sights and interesting events for tourists in 12 regions of the Far East and Transbaikalia. It is assumed that as a result of the project implementation, tourist and recreational clusters and supporting infrastructure will be formed.

Each of the subjects of this route presents its own unique tourist sites and attractions: for example, in Yakutia - these are the Lena Pillars, in the Amur Region - the Vostochny cosmodrome, in Kamchatka - the Valley of Geysers. In addition, the project involves linking tours to various events specific to each of the seasons. So, going along the Eastern Ring of Russia in winter, you can visit the festival of national cuisine "Buuzyn Bayar" in Buryatia, watch the ice sculpture competition "Ice Fantasy" in Khabarovsk, take part in the traditional dog sled race "Beringia" in Kamchatka. As conceived by the authors of the project, interregional routes should become the locomotive for the development of the industry within each of the regions.

However, the formation of this single tourist route is slow. Only in 2016, an agreement on the interaction of the parties on the implementation of the project between the Ministry of Culture of Russia, Rostourism and interested regions. In May 2018, at the fourth Pacific Tourism Forum, representatives of the constituent entities of the Eastern Ring of Russia noted that thanks to subsidized tickets and effective promotion, interest in the route had grown. However, its full potential is still far away.

According to Daria Guseva, now the Eastern Ring of Russia is of particular interest to Europeans. It is they who are happy to purchase tours along this route, and its presentation in Australia attracted tourists from this country as well.

BENEFITS AND CHALLENGES

Each of the regions of the Far Eastern Federal District has its own unique historical and cultural sites, which are very attractive for tourists. However, it is not easy for the Far Eastern regions to provide an acceptable level of service and decent infrastructure. In addition, there are high transport costs.

“The development of domestic tourism is greatly hindered by high airfare,” says Nikolay Lipatin, Candidate of Economic Sciences. - The Far East and Siberia are poorly populated, and therefore they cannot provide a massive tourist flow within themselves. It is necessary to attract people from the densely populated European part of Russia, but it is cheaper for them to fly to Europe.

According to Olga Gurevich, Chairman of the Public Council for Tourism under the Governor of Primorsky Krai, a common problem for all Far Eastern regions is a poorly developed tourism infrastructure.

- The quality of the tourist product is strongly influenced by such factors as: bad roads, insufficient number of information signs and scoreboards, low level of service, - says Gurevich. – In addition, there is a big problem with personnel. Unfortunately, we have not yet introduced a guide certification system, and therefore sometimes people come across who conduct excursions without knowing the subject at all. Of course, each region has its own specifics, but as the tourism industry develops, each of them will face similar problems. For example, Primorye attracts tourists primarily by the sea coast. Most of the popular beaches and recreation areas are located in small towns, the infrastructure of which is simply not designed for a large number of people. During the high tourist season in these coastal villages and their surroundings, there are four or even five times more tourists than local residents. Naturally, the medical services and the police of these settlements are simply not able to cope with such a flow. It comes to the point that the surrounding shops lack basic products, - says Olga Gurevich.

In her opinion, the problem is also that in the high seasons, prices in the Far East do not match the quality. Services are overpriced.

- Few people think about extending the tourist season. Most industry players are looking to get more money here and now,” notes Gurevich.

Another serious issue that affects not only the tourism industry, but also other areas of the Far East, is the low population density of the territories.

“No development is possible without people,” says sociologist Maxim Namdakov, “and the tourism sector is directly tied to the indigenous population. It is these people who supply the industries that provide tourism with personnel. Unfortunately, the Far East, Transbaikalia, Siberia are losing population. Of course, in each subject this process proceeds differently, but the general trend is exactly the same. Moreover, internal migration can also affect tourism. People from small settlements move to larger ones, and this, in turn, “exposes” tourist attractions located in the outback. The infrastructure suffers from this. The modern mass tourist loves not only beauty, but also comfort. Therefore, it is unlikely that he will go to admire the waterfalls and lakes, not being able to relax after a walk with all the amenities. And only the population permanently residing near the sights can provide them, - the sociologist notes.

The Far East has huge resources for the development of both domestic and inbound tourism, and state support measures, which are presented within the framework of the federal law "On the Free Port of Vladivostok", provide ample opportunities for the development of tourism in the Far Eastern Federal District, says Associate Professor of the Department of Service and Tourism of the School Economics and Management FEFU Irina Barashok.

- Considering the remoteness of the Far East region from the central regions of the country, the first thing I would like to note is the lack of information about the Far East. Recently, a forum of tour operators "Pacific Breeze" was held in Primorsky Krai, and its participants just noted that there is very little information on the Far East or it is "on duty". Therefore, it is necessary to organize fam-tours for Russian and foreign tour operators as often as possible so that they learn more about the Far Eastern Federal District and can independently assess the tourist resources of the region. To increase the information content about the region, the tourism industry, if possible, participate in the Tourist Business workshop, write more about the region to journalists by posting articles in such electronic publications as RATA-news, for example, the expert says.

To enhance tourist flows, it is important to develop transportation, increase the number of regular flights in Russia and international traffic, to solve the problem of quality service in the tourism market, pay attention to training for the tourism industry, namely, mastering practical professional skills. One of the ways to solve this problem is the introduction of WorldSkills standards into the educational process.

"It is possible to increase the average length of stay in the region and motivate tourists to repeat trips by diversifying tourist routes and expanding the network of interregional routes within the framework of the Eastern Ring of Russia project. To develop a new tourist route, you need to know the consumer of tourist services, understand what he wants to see. Therefore, the use of a marketing approach in the activities of travel agencies should become mandatory," the expert says. According to Irina Barashok, it is also necessary to develop unique events that could arouse interest among tourists. "The development of event tourism requires a new approach to its organization - the coordination of numerous co-executors and co-organizers. In addition, it is impossible to create an effective tourist event without financial, organizational, informational support from the executive branch," she sums up.