Determining goals and objectives

The work on a new guided tour begins with a clear definition of its goals and objectives. This helps the authors to better organize the work in the future. The tour objective is considered as something for the sake of which tourists are shown historical and cultural monuments. Let's name several objectives: breeding patriotism, love and respect for the homeland, socially useful work, and tolerant attitude to other peoples; aesthetic education, as well as broadening the mind, gaining additional knowledge in various fields of science and culture, etc. The tour guide objective can be achieved through revealing its theme.

Theme selection

The choice of the topic depends on the demand, or the specific nature of the guided tour. Each tour should have its own clearly defined theme.

The theme is the pivot that unites all the attractions and sub-topics of the excursion into one whole. However, it is not enough to select an attraction that will help to reveal the topic, but the necessary material as well. The grouping of topics is the basis of guided tours classification.

The selection of literature and compiling bibliographies

While designing a guided tour you need to make up a list of books, brochures, articles published in newspapers and magazines that helps reveal the topic. The purpose of the list is to assist guides in using the necessary factual and theoretical material in the preparation of the script.

Identifying other sources of information

In addition to print publications, other sources of information can be used. The guides tour designers make up the list, which includes state archives, museums, documentaries (documentary and popular science films), which contain materials on the topic of the tour. Memories of events participants and eyewitnesses can also be used as a source. Significant help in finding and systematizing the material of tours can be provided by computer encyclopedia, including multimedia databases.

Questions

1. What does the work on the tour design begin with?

2. Name some tour objectives.

3. Does the theme selection depend on the type of a guided tour?

4. What is a sub-topic? How many sub-topics can a guided tour include?

5. What sources are used for material selection?

Selection of tourist attractions

The presentation of attractions is the most important part of the tour. The correct selection of attractions, their number, the sequence of presentations affect the quality of the guided tour. Currently, over 150,000 monuments of history, archeology and culture are registered in Russia and about 40 million exhibits are kept in museums of the country.

There are different types of attractions:

- historical memorials connected with historical events in the life of our people, the development of society and the state (for example, Kulikovo field, Borodino, etc.);

- buildings and structures, memorials related to the life and work of outstanding personalities, architectural monuments and buildings, (dwelling and public buildings, industrial buildings), engineering structures (fortresses, bridges, towers), mausoleums, cultural monuments and other buildings;

- natural sites - forests, groves, parks, rivers, lakes, ponds, nature reserves and wildlife sanctuaries, as well as individual trees, relic plants;

- expositions of state and national museums, art galleries, permanent and temporary exhibitions;

- archaeological sites - ancient sites, settlements, burial mounds, earthen ramparts, roads, mining sites, sanctuaries, canals, etc.

- art monuments - works of fine arts and crafts, sculpture, park and gardening art.

Questions

1. What is the most important part of a guided tour?

2. What objects can be used as tourist attractions?

3. What is a memorial?

4. What buildings and structures can be shown as tourist attractions?

5. What natural sites can be used as attractions?

6. Where can tourists see different expositions?

7. What archaeological sites can be of interest to tourists?

8. What objects do art monuments include?

All tourist attractions are classified by:

- the content - one-dimensional (painting, river, plant, animal, house) and multi- dimensional (architectural ensemble, forest, field, street, area of the city);

- functional purposes – the main attractions that serve as the basis for revealing the sub-topics, and additional attractions shown during crossings between the main attractions during the logical bridges in the narration;

- the degree of preservation - completely preserved, which have survived to the present day with significant changes (reconstructed), partially preserved, and lost (non- preserved).

When designing the tour, the main task is to select the most interesting attractions both from the appearance and information point of view. Proper attraction selection will provide a visual basis for the perception of the tour material and a profound revelation of the topic.

Questions

1. In what way are tourist attractions classified by the content?

2. What‘s the difference between main and additional attractions?

3. How do we classify attractions by the degree of preservation?

4. What should be taken into account on attraction selection?

A certain method of assessing tourist attractions has been worked out in tour design. The application of this technique is especially important in cases when the tour designers have to choose the most interesting attraction among the great number of similar ones that tourist can see en route.

To evaluate the attractions to be included in the guided tour, it is recommended to use the following criteria:

Cognitive value - the connection of an attraction with a specific historical event, with a certain epoch, the life and work of a well-known figure in science and culture, the artistic merits of the monument, the possibility of using them in the aesthetic education of the tour participants.

Popularity of an attraction - its popularity among the population (for example, such attraction as Red Square, Ostankino television tower, etc.).

Unique feature of an attraction - this refers to the peculiarity, uniqueness of the monument of history and culture, buildings and structures. The unusualness of the attraction is usually connected with some historical event while exoticism can be a natural one.

The external expression of an attraction - external expressiveness of the attraction, its interaction with the background, the environment - buildings, structures, nature. The advantage is given to the attraction that fits best into the terrain, is in harmony with other attractions, with a landscape (for example, the building of the Moscow University on Lenin Hills).

Preservation of an attraction – the assessment of the present state of the attraction, its suitability for presentation.

Location of an attraction - When selecting attractions, the distance to the monument, accessibility to it (accessibility), the suitability of the road for vehicles (suitable roads), the possibility of bringing tourists to the site, the natural setting surrounding this attraction, the availability of a place suitable for the location of the group for observation.

Temporary restriction of attraction presentation – the time limit when visiting and inspection of an attraction is impossible due to poor visibility or seasonality.

Questions

1. What criteria are used for tourist attraction selection?

2. What does the cognitive value of an attraction mean?

3. Why are such attractions as Red Square or Ostankino TV Tower included in a guided tour?

4. From what point of view should the attraction location be evaluated?

5. Why is a certain period of time important for attraction presentation?

The guided tour should not be overloaded with a large number of visited attractions, as this increases its duration and causes tiredness of tourists. The optimal duration of a city tour is 2-4 academic hours, with no more than 15-20 sightseeing attractions.

The tour can include attractions of the same group (for example, monuments of architecture) and several groups (memorials, historical monuments, residential buildings, natural objects). The set of attractions depends on the theme of the tour, its

contents, the composition of the group. It is wrong, for example, when the entire sightseeing tour is built exclusively on the presentation of sculptors and monuments. One should avoid the monotony of constructing the visual series. Visual impressions of excursionists will be incomplete if the route along with monuments and monuments does not include the presentation of individual buildings and streets, squares, memorials, natural sites.

Questions

1. How many tourist attractions are usually included in a city sightseeing tour?

2. What types of attractions are recommended to include into a city tour?

When the attractions have been selected for the tour it‘s necessary to draw up a passport for each of them. These cards are used both for a specifically developed topic, and for future guided tours.

The following data are entered in the attraction passport:

1) the name of an attraction (original and modern), as well as the name under which the monument is known to the public;

2) the historical event with which the monument is associated, the date of the event;

3) the location of the attraction - its postal address, on whose territory the monument is located (city, town, industrial enterprise, etc.);

4) the description of the monument - its author, the date of construction, from what materials it is made, the text of the memorial inscription;

5) source of information about the monument - literature, which describes the monument and events associated with it, archival data, oral traditions, basic printed works and places of storage of unpublished works;

6) the preservation of the monument - the state of the monument and the territory on which it is located, the date of the last repair, restoration;

7) protection of the monument - to whom it is entrusted;

8) what guided tours the monument is used for;

9) the date of drawing up the passport, the surname and position of the passport maker.

A photograph of the attraction is attached to the passport, reproducing its current and former views.

In the passport of architectural, natural, archaeological attractions some other information can be included as well. For example, the passport on the monument of architecture (building) includes information about the presence of a sculptor, tiles, murals in the interior and exterior decor, the type and construction of the building, the degree of preservation.

The passports for all attractions located in the territory of this area make it easier to design new guided tours and presentation of the attractions more effective.

Questions

1. What is an attraction passport?

2. What information does it include?

3. What should be attached to the passport?

4. Why is it important to make an attraction passport?