Directions of researching the competitivesness of tourist destinations

The article substantiates the importance of researching the tourism sector as the main driving force of economic development, global communication and a tool for creating new jobs. The work updates the importance of tourist destinations as the primary link in the development of the hospitality industry, which attracts tourists, activates the country's tourist complex, is characterized by the presence of a service system to meet the needs of tourists and is conditioned by a certain level of competitiveness. Based on this, the paper identifies tourism destination competitiveness as a key aspect for governments and hospitality industry professionals seeking to gain a competitive advantage in the ever-changing global tourism industry. The work focuses on the need to form a comprehensive system of indicators for assessing the competitiveness of tourist destinations. The author focused attention on global competitiveness indices, in particular, highlighted the main differences between the Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index and the Travel and Tourism Development Index, presented the indicators that formed the basis of the research of the latter. The work provides a comprehensive description of the blocks of research on the competitiveness of tourist destinations, including: "Travel and tourism sustainability", "Travel and tourism policy and enabling conditions", "Infrastructure", "Travel and tourism demand drivers", "Enabling Environment". The indicators of competitiveness described in the work can become, on the one hand, a basis for the analysis and formation of a system of competitive advantages of tourist destinations, and on the other hand, a basis for the formation of sustainable tourism development policies. The author notes that the tourism sector can act as a direction and opportunity for the diversification of the economy and the creation of competitive markets. Thus, with effective management, chains of added value can increase the demand for existing and new products and services in the field of tourism, which will positively affect the financial capacity of the population and the development of tourist regions. Key words: competitiveness, tourism, tourist destination, service sector, hospitality industry