Modern network science has become a prominent concept, attracting diverse scientific societies to solve a wide spectrum of theoretical and practical problems. Tourism is a sphere wherein the outlines of the network’s scope are distinct. In the study, the network approach was applied in its dual form for both network-like regional tourism data (NLRTD) and network-unlike regional tourism data (NURTD), to explore the tourism destination of Baikal natural territory, Russia, in regard to the challenges of the general sustainability of regional socio-ecological systems. The aim of the study is to elaborate a comprehensive network platform to harmonize such complex and fragile systems as Baikal natural territory. Saturated with networking ideology, the approach spans a huge set of interacting social, technological and ecological elements of the comprehensive system in order to support its functionality and sustainability in general. Particularly, the paper utilizes data from interviews done in Olkhon island (2017–2018), and publicly available textual, spatial and temporal data. NLRTD with pertinent networkization procedures was utilized in transportation schemes, while the NURTD concept implies the networkalization of landscape and land use maps. The platform provides researchers and stakeholders with concentrated information which might be not only effectively processed, but also intelligible, and correctly compared and implemented in contiguous spheres.

This article discusses the prospects for the development of sustainable tourism as an element of the network system in Okinsky District, Republic of Buryatia, RF. Before COVID-19-related restrictions, the number of tourists in this area increased annually, which was associated with the attractiveness of this terrain for visitors. The potential of the tourism sector of Okinsky District comes from the combination of a large number of natural resources. The area has rich water resources, including rivers, lakes, waterfalls, and mineral springs, with well-preserved mountainous landscapes accompanied by a centuries-old cultural and ethnic heritage. Due to Okinsky District’s specific border location and remoteness, the area has a very large number of places for recreation. The objective of our work is to clarify key factors hindering the development of tourism in the district. The study is aimed at examining the state of natural objects and determining their importance for locals, vacationers, and the district as a whole. In this regard, a problem integrity scope and a networked approach to the accompanying analysis reveal the mechanisms that contribute to the conservation of biological diversity of natural objects and their rational, scientifically grounded use in the tourism industry in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. The set of problems that impede the active promotion of tourism were identified. However, these problems are typical not only for the studied district but also many other remote areas of the Russian Federation.