Tourism and transport infrastructure: an analysis of ethnic preferences

Despite the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and unfavorable foreign policy factors, tourism remains attractive to the population of many countries. The desire of a person to “move” in order to see something new, to feel what representatives of other cultures feel, is natural, in line with the logic of the historical development of peoples, and should be welcomed and encouraged at all levels of the state system. The transformation of travel into a mass phenomenon (including travel for tourism purposes) is largely due to almost revolutionary changes in the transport system. In modern conditions, the traveler is more focused on the independent choice of the tour, the alternative ways and means of transportation in an unfamiliar country. This imposes an additional burden on public transport, which must be taken into account when analyzing the potential of the transport infrastructure of the host country. In the main areas of analytical work, special attention should be paid to identifying social preferences of foreign travelers in the field of transport, determining priorities when choosing a travel method. In this regard, the following are relevant: a) the motives for choosing a mode of transportation / mode of transport by a tourist; b) the relationship of ethnic preferences and expectations when choosing a transport service; c) assessment of the emotional characteristics of the choice. Consideration of these issues and some conclusions obtained as a result of experimental work are presented in this paper.