Abstract:
Tourism, as a symbol of goodness and peace, is able to unite people of different nationalities, beliefs, social status and religion. We are all different, and it is this diversity that makes us interesting and attractive, causes curiosity and a desire to learn more. Tourism reveals the best and most original aspects of the people, and also helps countries reach a different socio-economic level.
The Republic of Moldova has just begun to form its long and wonderful tourist path and is already making progress. In this article, we will consider the agro-tourism potential of the autonomous-territorial formation of Gagauzia, a southern region with a population of just over 150 thousand.
There are not so many natural and historical objects in Gagauzia that could be attractive for tourists, but it has a huge agro-tourism potential.
The pearls of the southern hospitable region are culture, traditions, national holidays and festivals, including agricultural and wine-making activities, cuisine, as well as folk crafts and handicrafts.
The Gagauz people, especially in rural areas, sacredly honor customs and traditions and pass them on from generation to generation. Here, such ancient professions as a saddler, a cooper, a master in painting susaks, carpet weaving, etc. have been preserved. The national cuisine has absorbed all the gastronomic preferences of representatives of various peoples living side by side with the Gagauz for many decades.
However, today tourism in Gagauzia is a rather fragmented structure and operates rather chaotically and intuitively than according to certain norms and regulations, based on the experience of countries that have been successful in this area.
In this paper, we not only considered the agro-tourism attractiveness of the autonomous entity, but also developed a number of recommendations that can allow the region to reach a new level in the process of developing agro-tourism potential.