Abstract
The agritourism industry is one of the youngest in Kazakhstan, which determines the promising directions for the development of domestic tourism sector. Currently, European countries consider tourism industry to be a priority project for the development of rural areas. The goal - is a comprehensive analysis of the prerequisites and factors for socioeconomic growth in the Turkestan region and its attractiveness to rural tourism. Methods – observation and collection of information, analysis and synthesis, a systematic approach. Results – the article is devoted to the study of ecotourism problems in the region. The main tendencies of its organization are outlined. It has been established that this vector is developing progressively, based on existing world traditions and has Kazakhstani specifics associated with its features. The potential of tourism service sector and its role in modernization of the economy of this administrative-territorial unit is revealed. A SWOT-analysis of the state of tourism industry, classification of areas according to agritourism significance is presented. The effectiveness and expediency of expanding the sphere of ecological tourism are shown. Conclusions – for the first time, agritourism services have become widespread in Akmola, North Kazakhstan regions. It is noted that poss ibilities of the region allow to increase the flow of tourists, increase their interest in agritourism facilities, develop organic farming, contribute to the growth of the number of small businesses, production of environmentally friendly products of personal subsidiary plots and farms in rural areas, creation of additional jobs, decrease in the outflow of local population to cities, preservation and popularization of local architectural monuments, elements of art and customs of the people, strengthening the position of tourism business, paying special attention to tourism activities. The leisure industry has a large reserve of natural and human resources. However, as the authors state, farmers need information and advisory support from travel companies, including electronic means.