The dissertation elaborates theoretical and methodological foundations of recreational and tourist natural resources use by: a) identifying the methodological approaches to the study of recreational and tourist natural resources use; b) carrying out a retrospective description of the formation and functioning of recreation and tourism in the territory of Ivano-Frankivsk region; c) approbation of spatial analysis of nature-recreational, historical and cultural, socio-economic components of recreational and tourist natural resources use; d) definition of the recreational and tourist capacity of the territory.
Recreational and tourist natural resources use is considered as an integral type of nature resources use, the main task of which is the rational use of natural, historical and cultural, socio-economic conditions and resources for recreation and health improvement of people. An important and necessary operator for the detection of modern recreational and tourist natural resources use and its impact on the state of the environment is referring to evaluation approaches, including the assessment of the natural recreational capacity of the territory. Recreational capacity of the territory is considered as the ratio of the norm of recreational load for certain territory, the area of the natural recreational territory, the duration of the favorable recreational period to the average length of stay of a tourist on certain territory (landscape, etc.). In the course of research it has been identified that mountainous areas are the most prospective for the development of recreational and tourist natural resources use, while industrial towns are the least suitable, due to small nature recreational area. The indicators of natural recreational capacity of the territory can be used to assess the prerequisites for the development of recreation al activities.
On the basis of the comprehensive study of natural, socio-economic, historical and cultural resources, the zoning of the territory has been carried out and the micro-regions of the Dnister, Pokutsko-Premountaineous, Mountain Pokutsk and regional (Ivano-Frankivsk) micro regions have been identified, which are fully covered by the recreational and tourist nature management. The reason for this situation is the lack of a single mechanism for the functioning of the recreational and tourist nature use, the low level of attraction of local and foreign investors to the development of recreation and tourism, as well as passive involvement of local communities in the functioning and development of rural eco-tourism. In order to involve new territories to the field of recreational and tourist nature use, the system of territories (with limited recreational and tourist use, recreational and undeveloped territories, reserve territories, territories of intensive recreational activities), which can be used and will promote even environmental conservation and recreational and tourist nature management in the future, has been suggested.
