Conceptual geography and tourism

Geographical descriptions and geographical comparisons provide a basis for understanding the key features of a place. These classical approaches, revealing the typical and the unique, make it possible to discover the «formula of the place», to understand the rational directions of the development of the territory. Often, territorial development projects are based not on marketing and technical calculations, but on a geographic idea. In this case, we are dealing with conceptual geography, which can significantly change the priorities of society’s development in the future. Conceptual geography is seen as an applied approach, expressed in the practical, economic design of geographical thought. The tourism sector demonstrates a special geographical conceptuality. Tourism is one of the areas of interest for people where the importance of geography is recognized. The most promising planning of tourist routes based on geographical creativity. The tourist industry is especially «genetically» territorial. Objects of tourism and recreation are inherently geographic, organically integrated into the territory, reflecting its features. The article shows the movement from descriptive and comparative geography to conceptual geography on the example of the development of one of the towns of the Perm region. Geographic technologies are actively used in tourism design. The development of conceptual geography through tourism testifies to its special sensitivity, to the ability to show new guidelines for social development.