Measures of State Support for SMEs in Small Tourist Towns

The relevance of choosing small tourist towns with a population of up to 50 thousand inhabitants as research objects in terms of supporting small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) is explained by the difficulty of achieving financial self-sufficiency of these territorial entities. The subject of the study is the system of state support for SMEs in small tourist cities of Russia. The objectives of the work are to assess the current development of SMEs in small tourist towns, systematize measures and tools of state support for SMEs and develop proposals for their improvement. The hypothesis of the study is the assumption that small and medium-sized businesses are a catalyst for the economy of a small tourist city. The article combines the concepts of «small town», «tourist territory», «resort town», «small tourist town». As research methods, the article applied a systematic approach to the study of the characteristics of SME activities in small tourist towns, analysis of the regulatory framework, statistical analysis of the dynamics of SME performance indicators. The practical significance of the study lies in the formation of proposals based on the systematization of state support measures for SMEs in relation to small tourist towns, providing for increased transparency of information and simplified reporting on support measures provided to SMEs; stimulating local brands; improving the investment climate by reducing the complexity of business procedures through the creation of roadmaps; development of tourist clusters through participation in more global value chains; providing high-speed Internet access and promoting highspeed broadband access to it. The tax instrument is the tourist tax introduced from 2025, the introduction of which is ambiguously assessed by experts due to the fact that it will be levied from places of collective accommodation of tourists, increasing the tax burden on them and thereby causing hoteliers to leave the shadow sector.

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