Public-private partnership is one of the most significant factors in the development of tourist attractiveness of Russian territories, a mechanism for improving the quality and differentiation of tourist services. The authors aim to determine the possibilities and limitations of using the mechanism of public-private partnership in the process of forming the tourist potential of Russian territories. The study used a set of general theoretical research methods: classification, systematization, etc. The key research methods are the analysis of documents on the research problem, as well as a focus group study, where the heads of Russian municipalities acted like experts. Barriers to the development of public-private partnership practices in tourism are the following: gaps in the legal framework, the complexity of project approval procedures, the lack of effective support for these practices in the media, problems of the investment climate, the orientation of PPP projects to large businesses with an insufficient number of successful commercial players in the tourism market. The results of the study show that the favorable investment climate of the municipality is the dominant factor in the development of public-private partnerships in the field of tourism. A comprehensive approach to the development of public-private partnership projects include the following measures: the formation of institutional conditions, information and consulting support for entrepreneurs, the removal of organizational barriers, the introduction of various types of benefits and preferences for business representatives.