The article deals with the issue of formation and functioning of rural tourism clusters in Ukraine. Here, formation of cluster structures in rural tourism is at its initial stage. Analysis of existing clusters resulted in their classification into groups based on the criterion of specialization: lodging and food (farmsteads), agritourist and local history tourism clusters. Analysis of the main research models for the creation and analysis of rural tourism clusters functioning has been performed. A multilevel universal model of the rural tourism clusters with basic structural levels (basic, affiliate and accompanying) has been proposed for scientific and practical purposes. This model was used to form two cluster initiatives in the ethnographic region of the Ukrainian Carpathians – in the Boykivshchyna. The need to use foreign experience in rural tourism cluster research has been emphasized.

The article describes the problem of formation of the national rural green tourism brand of Ukraine during more than 20 years. The main stages of its formation were identified: introduction, formation and active development. The article analyzed the basic factors (regulatory-legal, informative, communicative, public-entrepreneurial) and tools of the national brand formation. It emphasized the important role of NGO Union of Rural Green Tourism of Ukraine in ensuring the functioning of the brand of the same name. On the basis of statistics, results of various sociological surveys of tourists and monitoring of rural tourism entities, the degree of formation and expressiveness of certain elements of brand equity by consumers and producers was estimated. The article describes the practice of functioning of the regional Carpathian sub-brand as the most recognizable and attractive for domestic and foreign clients. It considers modern problems related to the support and management of the national rural green tourism brand. The strategy for further development of the brand focuses on improving communication with consumers, expanding the range of products and services and actively supporting rural tourism entities in promoting the brand in the national and international services market.