Rural green tourism standardization and certification system building within the European integration context

The purpose of the research is to determine the organizational, legislative and regulatory framework for the standardization and certification of the rural green tourism as an unconventional business pattern and a type of environmental services. Methods. In the process of research, systematic and integrated approaches were used, which provided a comprehensive study of the problem and the achievement of scientific results. Methodological basis of the research are general theoretical methods of scientific knowledge, in particular dialectic method, system analysis, fundamental positions of general economic theory. The graphical method was used to visualize the structural diagrams. In addition, general scientific and special methods were used in the study such as dialectical, monographic, non-lethal, induction and deduction, which allowed them to be used to determine the organizational, legislative and regulatory framework for the standardization and certification of the rural green tourism. Results. The article discusses issues concerning the legislative and regulatory framework for the standardization and certification of the rural green tourism in Ukraine. Methodological approaches how to standardize and certify the rural ecotourism are presented too. Innovative factors, having an impact on the rural green tourism evolution in the Ukrainian regions, have been indicated herein. Some attention has been focused on the need for the ecological certification and audit of the various territories, administrative regions, natural and economic systems of the country in general. The necessity of using marks for the legal protection of geographical indications has been determined. It has been proven that the voluntary ecological certification certifies some compliance with the requirements of laws, technical regulations, best practices, good rules, national and industry standards both for the tourism and, in general, for the adherence of requirements as to the environment quality maintenance. Practical meaning. A rural ecological tourism standardization and certification system, accelerating the adaptation of the Ukrainian regulatory and legislative framework to the EU standards, improving the tourism product quality, based on European standards and environmental regulations, helping attract foreign investments and develop the rural green tourism infrastructure and material bases, has been built grounding on the deep study of the present issues. Prospects for further research. The results obtained herein determine the need for the further improvement of the methodological criteria developed for the certification of rural green tourism farmsteads. It will lead to the market promotion of environmental services, to the increase in the number of foreign tourists and to the rise in the competitiveness of Ukraine as the player of the international market of tourist services.