Ecological Tourism in Russia: Practices of Social Interaction and Solidarity Achievement within Trekking Groups

Recently, all over the world and in Russia in particular, nature tourism is gaining more and more popularity. In the context of coronavirus restrictions, domestic Russian ecotourism has experienced a real renaissance. Commercial trekking trips also have gained popularity. However, the specificity of this type of tourism lies in the presence of several problems that can negatively affect the recreation of people. At the same time, the interaction of the ecotourist with the rest of the group plays an important role in obtaining a positive consumer experience. What is the peculiarity of interaction in these trips? We will try to answer this question by achieving the goal of this study - to identify the specifics of intragroup social interaction of participants in commercial trekking trips in Russia. The study used the in-depth interview method, which will allow to describe in detail the social reality of a trekking group of ecotourists. The sample for this study was drawn from thematic groups and social media accounts and recruited using a snowball method. Also, four research tasks were solved, consisting in determining the motives and goals of participating in a commercial campaign, social interaction practices, group social norms and the roles of a guide. As a result of the research, the reader forms an idea of the social world of the trekking group, and also gains an understanding of the specifics of social interaction in it.