Abstract: Rural tourism today is one of the new and actively developing types of tourism in Russia. Due to political and epidemiological factors, the approach to choosing a place of rest has changed and many modern tourists prefer to travel around Russia, getting acquainted with the geographical, agro-industrial, gastronomic, ethno-cultural characteristics of rural areas. The article analyzes the state of legal regulation of rural tourism at the present stage. Program documents, federal laws, by-laws containing norms regulating the provision of services in rural tourism are considered. The main provisions of the program for providing state support in the field of rural tourism – the "Agrotourism" grant - are revealed and the problems associated with the inability of some agricultural producers to become grant applicants due to non-compliance with the rules for registration of individual entrepreneurs engaged in agriculture are raised.   Also, the article analyzes the requirements for accommodation facilities in agriculture and tourism adopted in November 2022, points out the shortcomings of the federal executive authority when adopting an order approving such requirements related to ignoring the specifics of providing services in rural areas, the performers of which are non-professional participants in the tourism industry. In conclusion, it describes the currently most effective way to promote services in rural tourism using online aggregators. The conclusion is made about the importance of support by state authorities and local self-government of agricultural producers wishing to develop rural tourism in parallel with the implementation of agricultural activities.

Keywords: legal regulation, agrotourism, rural areas, sustainable development, tourist activity, standards, rural tourism, state support, agricultural producer, aggregator