2.5. Excursion technology

The effectiveness of any excursion largely depends on the technique of its conduct, the relationship between the methodology and technique of conducting. A number of requirements are imposed on the technique of conducting an excursion. These include the introduction of the guide to the group, the correct placement of the group at the object, the exit of the excursionists from the bus and returning to the bus (other vehicle), the use of a microphone by the guide, keeping the time allotted for the tour as a whole and the disclosure of individual subtopics, answering questions from the tourists, etc.

Acquaintance of the guide with the group. The guide, entering the bus, gets acquainted with the group. He greets those present, calls his last name, first name, patronymic, the excursion institution that he represents, introduces the tourists to the bus driver, that is, he begins the tour with an introduction.

It is important that from the very beginning the guide subordinated his actions to the established rules of communication with the group. He doesn't start talking right away. There is a pause that lasts ten to twenty seconds. The first acquaintance takes place, further contacts of the guide with the group largely depend on it. The sightseers gradually fall silent, sit down more comfortably, their attention switches to the guide. Tourists estimate what the guide is capable of, what interesting things he will tell them, and the guide thinks about how to interest these people, how to rive their attention to the topic.

With the correct organization of excursion work, preparation for it should take place in advance. This is done by tour organizers or travel agents.

The plot of the excursion must be known to the excursionist in advance. The excursionist must know the topic of the excursion. It is extremely important that advertising activities and the purchase of a tour package be separated from the tour by one or two days. This is significant in the sense that during this period of time a certain psychological attitude of the excursionist will occur. He will have time to think and get used to the plot of the tour.

Each topic has its own introduction. If the composition of the group is different (for example, the local population and visiting tourists, adults and children), the same excursion will have different introductions. The guide pays special attention to the preparation and execution of the introduction, which gives a specific setting to the tourists, allows you to establish contact with them.

The exit of tourists from the bus (trolleybus, tram). Tourists need to prepare in advance for the exit. In cases where this is not done, a significant part of the group remains on the bus, not leaving to observe the monuments at their location. Thus, tourists lose the opportunity to personally get acquainted with the object.

At stops where the exit of the excursion group is provided, the guide leaves first, showing an example to the group and determining the direction of its movement to the object. In cases where other stops are arranged in the excursions, for example, sanitary or for the purchase of souvenirs, the guide reports the exact time (hour and minutes) of the bus departure. It is necessary to require tourists to comply with the rules of the tour, which affects the schedule of the bus along the route. If the parking time in a country excursion for some reason is reduced or increased, the guide informs all tourists about it.

Arrangement of the group at the object. When developing an excursion, as a rule, several options for placing a group to observe the excursion object are determined. This is done in the case when the place determined by the methodological development is occupied by another group or when the sun's rays shine into the eyes, making it difficult to inspect the object. There are other reasons that prevent the use of the recommended place. In hot weather, opportunities are used to locate groups in the shade. In case of rain, the option of placing tourists under the roof, under the crown of trees, is provided. In some cases, the technique requires that several points be selected to inspect the object: far, if the object is shown together with environment or other objects; near, if individual details of a building, structure, terrain, natural object are analyzed. These features are reflected in the column "Organized guidelines for methodological development." Each guide carefully studies these instructions and, before going on the route with the group, clarifies issues related to the arrangement of the group to observe objects. It is also necessary to ensure the safety of sightseers when inspecting objects and when crossing motorways.

With the simultaneous location of several groups near one object, such a distance must be maintained between them so that one guide does not interfere with the other with his story, so that one group does not obscure the other object of observation. Known difficulties in observing this condition are the placement of groups to show the museum exposition.

Movement of sightseers from the bus to the object, from the object to the bus, between the objects is carried out by the group. The guide's place is in the center of the group, a few people go in front, a few are nearby, the rest are behind. It is important that the group does not stretch: the distance between its head and those who go last should not exceed 5-7 meters. The guide must ensure that when the group moves along the route, the integrity is not violated. With a long group, not everyone will hear the guide's story, his explanations and logical transitions that are presented along the way. Experienced guides skillfully guide the movement on the route.

The pace of the movement of the group depends on the composition of the group (children, youth, middle age, the elderly), on the terrain, for example, climbing uphill, poor roads, overcoming ditches of dangerous zones in working shops, etc.

In a walking tour, the pace of movement of tourists is slow, unhurried, since the display objects are located next to each other.

It is more difficult to set the required pace of the group's movement on a bus tour. Here, getting off the bus, the guide does not start moving immediately, especially if the object is located in the distance. He allows most of the sightseers to get off the bus and then, slowly, but not too slowly, leads the group towards the goal. Approaching the object, he does not begin his story immediately, but after the whole group has gathered.

The guide directs the movement of tourists and in the course of their independent work on the route. Tourists walk around the object to read the inscription on it themselves, to enter inside it, to see the peculiar features of the architecture. They climb a hill to determine its height, climb a bell tower, a minaret to make sure of the unusual "step" of the steps of a steep staircase, go down into the moat to determine its depth, etc. These movements of sightseers enrich them with additional information and new impressions. , make it possible to feel the unique features of the objects, the features of the events to which the excursion is dedicated.

The return of tourists to the bus. During the movement of the group, it is led by a guide. When a group boards a bus, it stands to the right of the entrance and counts the sightseers who enter the cabin. This is done invisibly. After making sure that all the participants of the excursion have gathered, he enters the bus last and gives a signal to the driver about the start of the movement.

It is necessary to avoid counting tourists who have already taken their seats on the bus. This introduces unnecessary nervousness, sometimes causing comical situations, thereby disrupting the course of the excursion.

Tour guide location. The guide on the bus should take a place where he can clearly see the objects that are discussed on the tour, but so that all the tourists are in his field of vision. At the same time, tourists should see it. Typically, this is a dedicated front seat next to the driver (the seat behind the driver is reserved for another driver). The guide is not allowed to stand while the bus is moving (as well as sightseers) for safety reasons.

On a walking tour, the guide should be half-turned to the object. Conducting a display of visually perceived objects requires that they be in front of the eyes of the guide, because he analyzes them based on his visual impressions. This is especially important in out-of-town excursions, when the guide, while the bus is moving, sitting in his place with his back to the sightseers, looks into the front window of the bus and talks about what the sightseers already see or are about to see.

Compliance with the time in the excursion. The methodological development indicates the exact time allotted for the disclosure of each subtopic in minutes. Everything is provided here: showing objects, the guide's story, moving along the route to the next one and the movement of the group around the observed objects. The ability to meet the allotted time for the guide does not come immediately. This requires a lot of practice, including conducting an excursion with a watch in hand: at home, at a specific object. It is necessary to achieve compliance with the time when conducting a logical transition, highlighting a single sub-topic and main issues. Helps the guide timekeeping the time spent on individual parts of the tour. On the basis of such timing, taking into account the comments of the listener, the guide makes appropriate adjustments to his story. Everything superfluous is removed from the tour, which leads to a waste of time. Often, for reasons beyond the control of the guide, the tour is significantly reduced in time. The reason for this is the protracted gathering of the group, breakfast served to tourists at the wrong time, the bus being late, etc. As a result, the tour starts late. The guide has only one way out - to reduce the time allotted for the disclosure of the topic. This should be done by keeping everything important in the content of the excursion and removing the secondary. To do this, you need to prepare in advance for a possible reduction in the material of the excursion.

Technique for conducting a story while the bus is moving. The story while driving on the bus should be conducted by a guide through a microphone. If the equipment does not function well or there is no microphone at all, it is useless for the guide to talk while driving. The noise of the engine and the shaking of the bus limit the audibility, so that the explanations will be audible only to the sightseers sitting nearby. In this case, the guide gives materials about the nearest section of the route before the start of the movement, and during the movement he reports only the names of objects or areas. If there are important objects or settlements, it is necessary to stop the bus, turn off the engine, and only then give explanations. This must be agreed in advance with the driver.

Answers to the questions of tourists. In excursion practice, a certain classification of questions has developed. They are divided into four groups: the questions of the guide, which are answered by the tourists; questions posed during the story, which the guide answers; rhetorical questions that are posed to enhance the attention of tourists; questions asked by the participants of excursions on the topic. The first three groups of questions are related to the methodology for conducting excursions, and only the fourth group of questions is related to the technique of conducting excursions. Their content is different - sometimes they are associated with objects, sometimes - with the life of famous figures, and often - with events that are not related to the topic of the excursion. The main rule for dealing with such questions is that you should not interrupt the story and give an immediate answer to them, and you should not also answer questions at the end of each of the subtopics. This scatters attention and distracts the audience from the perception of the content of the topic being disclosed, since not everyone in the group is concerned about these issues. Therefore, the guide should answer questions not during the tour, but at the end of it. The content of the answers should not be debatable, i.e., make the tourists want to argue, continue the topic raised in the question.

Making an introduction to the topic, the guide informs his listeners about this order of answering questions.

Breaks in the tour. The tour guide should not talk continuously. There should be small breaks between the individual parts of the story, the story and the excursion information on the way, the logical transition and the story about the object and the events associated with it.

Pauses pursue the following tasks:

The first is semantic, when the time of breaks is used by people to think about what they heard from the guide and saw with their own eyes. To consolidate the factual material in memory, formulate their conclusions and remember what they saw. It is important that sightseers have time free from showing and telling each object for self-examination, preparation for the perception of what will be shown and told at the next stop;
- the second - to give a short rest to the tourists. It does not carry any semantic load. This is especially important for those who are not yet accustomed to such an active form of cultural and educational work as an excursion.

Pauses in out-of-town excursions are combined with rest, which, in accordance with the existing procedure, is provided to the guide: 15 min. after each hour of work (for the guide, the hour of the tour is 45 minutes). This rest can be summarized and used by the guide at the end of the tour. There may also be pauses in excursions - free time used to purchase souvenirs, printed materials, quench thirst, as well as for sanitary stops on long excursions.

The technique of using the "guide's briefcase". The content of the "portfolio of the guide", its significance and role in the use of methodological techniques of the show is related to the methodology for preparing and conducting the tour. Each exhibit - a photograph, a drawing, a reproduction of a painting, a portrait, a drawing, a copy of a document - has its own serial number. This determines the sequence of demonstration of this exhibit to the tourists.

The exhibit can be shown by the guide from his workplace, handed over to the tourists in the rows for a more detailed acquaintance.

Sometimes, in accordance with the methodological development, the guide organizes the playback of tape and video recordings. It is important to check the serviceability of the equipment in advance, the availability of the necessary records, to ensure audibility for all participants in the tour. The guide must be able to use this equipment.

During the tours, elements of the ritual (a ceremonial developed by folk customs) are used. Tourists at burial sites and memorials honor the memory of the dead with a minute of silence, are present at the changing of the guard of honor, participate in processions and rallies, and listen to mourning melodies. The guide needs to know the procedure for laying flowers, the passage of sightseers at the locations of mass graves and obelisks, participation in the guard of honor, in a minute of silence, the rules of conduct at the Eternal Flame and at the burial sites of heroes of the Civil, Great Patriotic War (1941-1945) and others wars. Before the start of the tour, the guide informs about everything, emphasizing the importance of observing the ritual when visiting historical sites.

conclusions

The importance of issues related to the technique of conducting excursions can hardly be overestimated. Neither a fascinating story about objects, nor methodical methods of displaying monuments will give the necessary effect if all aspects of its implementation are not seriously thought out, if conditions for observing objects are not created.

Control questions

1. The concept of "excursion technique".
2. Contents of the column "Organizational instructions".
3. Organization of the guide's work with the group.
4. Skillful use of excursion technique.
5. Skills in using the technique of conducting excursions.
6. The pace of movement of the group, its significance.
7. Using the microphone. Work in the absence of a microphone.
8. Establishing the necessary order in the group.
9. Use of free time during the excursion.
10. Answers to the questions of tourists.
11. Technique for using visual aids.

Creating a new interesting excursion is not an easy task. It is necessary to break the planned event into two equivalent stages - this is the preparation and conduct of the excursion.

To develop a new excursion route it is necessary to decide on the purpose of the excursion, the type (in terms of content - overview, thematic; in terms of the method of movement - pedestrian, bus) and display objects. The text of the excursion, its duration and saturation with facts will depend on this. This should not be done by one person, but by a creative group, which should include from three to seven people.

First steps to planning an excursion

When the objects are selected, we start collecting information on each of them and compose the most convenient route for transitions (crossings, etc.). Now, from a large amount of information on objects, you need to make an excursion text for each of them and a card for the object. Such a card is an indispensable part of the tour guide's portfolio, it contains brief information about the object and possibly a photograph of it.

After the excursion texts for the objects are written, it is easier to create an interesting and concise excursion text, to connect the parts with competent transitions.

After preparing the materials, a methodological development of the excursion is made - this is a document describing the excursion, its main parameters. The manual includes a topic, a route map, its length, type of excursion, safety rules, purpose, tasks and time. It also includes a table - a plan for the tour:

• route;
• display object;
• stop;
• time in minutes;
• enumeration of the main issues, names of subtopics;
• organizational guidelines;
• methodical instructions (logical transitions).

After that, the training manual must be certified by the management, it serves as a confirmation of the quality of the excursion.

Tour guide portfolio

Before you conduct a tour, you need to collect a "guide portfolio". This is the professional name for a set of visual aids to simplify the conduct of the tour. These can be reproductions of paintings, photographs of people who are related to this topic, maps depicting enterprises or military operations, geographic Maps, geological samples, product samples, tape recordings and other materials to help saturate the tour.

Material Requirements

The criteria for selecting visual material are low: safety, unusualness, expressiveness, the need for display and cognitive value. These are the main qualities of these criteria. It is very important to have good materials on objects that have not survived to this day or have changed a lot. This will make the material easier to understand. It should be borne in mind that reproductions, maps and photographs must be on a cardboard base, the image must be clear with a size of at least 18 * 24, preferably 24 * 30 cm.

Now that all the material is ready, let's figure out how to properly conduct a tour. Usually each guide has his own technique for conducting an excursion, based on personal experience and observations. But the method of conducting an excursion is a whole system of requirements and tasks, methods of telling and showing. All this is necessary to achieve maximum digestibility of the material. A well-developed methodology is a kind of list of rules for the guide when conducting a specific excursion. But it is worth paying attention to the fact that the methods of conducting an excursion should differ slightly depending on the age characteristics of the group and the interest of the tourists.

For school-age children, it is better not to overload the text with facts, it will be more interesting for them to see visual material and hear an interesting legend or story. It is also worth preparing for questions, there are a lot of them from children. It is important to be able to keep the attention of sightseers-schoolchildren. To do this, you need to ask questions: “Do you know?”; “Have you heard about…?”; “Do you like…?” etc. In this case, the guide has a dialogue with the tourists, and so you can keep your attention for quite a long time.

Tourists of the older generation, as a rule, behave quietly and calmly, and it is rather difficult to understand whether the story is interesting to them or not. In the event that these are not professors and scientists, it is advisable not to overload the text of the excursion with a large number of dates and numbers. Always allow time for photography, just five to seven minutes will be enough.

Tour guide receptions

There are generally accepted methods of conducting an excursion, they include storytelling and demonstration techniques. Display techniques allow you to draw the attention of tourists to the most important details, evaluate the general appearance of the object and its combination with the environment. Narrative techniques, in turn, help to recreate a more accurate picture of events in the imagination of the tourists. Key words: “Imagine…”, “It was… a year…”, etc.

Safety regulations

But besides interesting material and a pleasant guide, the event should be safe.

Safety during excursions, especially walking tours, is very important. The basic rules of safety and behavior on the route can be found in the methodological development of the excursion. But the guide is obliged to notify the group about safety measures immediately before the tour. Tell about all the nuances of the route. The most banal phrases about not sticking your head out the bus window and jumping out on the go should definitely be heard. Since the guide takes responsibility for the group during the tour, it is his task to tell about the safety rules.

What to warn tourists about

Particular attention should be paid to road crossings and crossings (cable bridges, caves, tunnels, etc.). If the excursion is conducted in nature, then fire safety rules should be warned. It is also necessary to talk about the fact that you can not try mushrooms, touch various insects and animals with your hands, drink water from open reservoirs and walk barefoot.

It is worth taking care of household items of the local population and the surrounding nature at the place of the excursion. In addition, people who have undergone preliminary briefing and medical examination, as well as people who do not have health-related contraindications, should be allowed to take excursions.

Photo: Official portal of the Mayor and the Government of Moscow

How to see among skyscrapers and cars ancient city? Where is the utopia house located? Who comes up with city tours and who goes on them? How to lay a route correctly and make a person listen carefully? Larisa Skrypnik, the leading guide of the City Excursion Bureau of the Museum of Moscow, spoke about the pros and cons of the work of a guide, about the mysteries of Moscow and the best sightseers.

- It seems that everything has already been said about Moscow, all the city labyrinths and nooks and crannies have been passed, and suddenly a new route, a new excursion appears - how is this possible?

— The Museum of Moscow, where I work, is celebrating its 120th anniversary this year. And all these years, the museum staff has been studying the city, its history, following all the changes that are taking place in the metropolis. Our collection contains thousands of documents, books, photographs that are still being researched. This alone already gives many reasons for a new look even at the most trivial excursions.

There is, of course, a mandatory block of excursions. As a rule, this sightseeing tour in Moscow, along Red Square, along the historical center, which are designed specifically for the first acquaintance with the city - for those who want to learn about the city in which they live. There are quite a few of them - as experience shows, Muscovites often do not know the city well. It seems to a person: I am here, I will have time for everything - and he passes by interesting places, not paying attention to them. But, when interest is shown, a person, as a rule, becomes our regular client. That is, the one who came once, begins to walk all the time. It is very joyful to see how the popularity of walking and bus tours is growing from year to year: more and more citizens want to learn about the capital as much as possible.

But there is another block of routes - those that we come up with on our own. These are always unusual walks on which we show the city from a new side. They can be thematic, timed to coincide with certain dates, events. So, we constantly have new routes through unexplored Moscow. We really want to show our beloved city from different angles; I want the participants of the walks to fall in love with Moscow just like we do. And such excursions are, as a rule, very much in demand.

— Can you tell us more about these routes?

- Was interesting story during the celebration of the anniversary of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. We were asked to come up with a walking tour of Gogol's places. Moreover, they asked to show not only the monuments to the writer, which are located at a distance of 400 meters from each other, not only the temple of Simeon the Stylite, whose parishioner was Gogol, but something else unusual. This is in a sense a challenge, I really love such things. It was necessary to make a walking tour and tell a lot about Gogol. As a result, with great interest for myself, I discovered more than 20 places associated with Nikolai Vasilyevich on the Arbat. Not in Moscow as a whole, but only on the Arbat. Exclusive excursions are born, for example, from such an offer - to help someone with a topic.

Or, for example, an excursion dedicated to 1612 in Moscow. She was not particularly in demand, no one ever asked to drive to these places. But when the request nevertheless appeared, it turned out that it was really very interesting excursion. Of course, excursions are also born because you yourself really like something. I love architecture and of course I came up with the Art Nouveau walking tour. Routes may appear after you have read an interesting book. Now there are a lot of memoirs, all kinds of works by pre-revolutionary Muscovites, which we did not know before. You are reading and suddenly you see the area completely different, not the way you imagined it, and you have an idea to make a tour of this place and show Moscow from some, maybe unexpected side.

— And how does it happen? How is the tour prepared?

- First, the search for material begins: reading special literature, diaries, going to libraries and, of course, studying the very area that you are going to talk about. Sometimes, when you walk the streets, you go into alleys, into courtyards, you discover absolutely incredible treasures that people have not seen. For example, Nikitsky Boulevard is such a facade street. But once, when I was preparing a tour there, I saw a metal gate with a door, behind which it was written that there was a repair of shoes or some kind of hardware. In general, a completely unpresentable door. But when I entered this doorway, I realized that this whole city with labyrinths. Who would have thought that this could be? People are always very interested in it. It’s as if you are plunging into the past, and you can imagine how you would feel if you lived in this house and your windows overlooked this courtyard….

- You said that you developed a tour of Art Nouveau, but this is not exactly the Moscow style, what are you showing?

— Because it hiking, then it passes between Ostozhenka, Prechistenka and in lanes. This is the profitable house of Isakov Kekushevsky, and the own house of the architect Kekushev. This is the profitable house of the peasant Loskov. We had such wonderful peasants who could invite the best architects and build houses in the northern modern style. There are really not enough of them in Moscow, mainly this style is common in St. Petersburg.

- It seems to me that the most difficult thing in your work is to make people listen, not all guides and not always succeed.

- You just need to know and understand: people cannot endlessly listen to a set of some facts, even if they are quite interesting, they still need some kind of detente. But it is important not just to giggle about something, but that it be tied to the topic. And by the way, on excursions sometimes the participants themselves help to find such relaxing moments. Once, on a tour of the Arbat and Arbat alleys, I had a wonderful girl of seven years old. On the Arbat, every building has a history, and I want to tell about everything. I started talking about the house with the knights across from Tetra Vakhtangov and said that, unfortunately, not all the knights survived, and this girl says to me: “But I can tell where this knight has gone.” I ask: where? She says: “The fact is that he fell in love with this princess, and there is a fountain “Princess Turandot” near the Vakhtangov Theater, he fell in love, went downstairs, bought her jewelry, but she did not accept the gift. So the knight got upset and left.” This is a charm! Now I always tell this, such a vivid perception of Moscow with its history by a child.

How long does it take to prepare a tour?

- It depends on the topic. There are those on which a huge amount of literature has been written, and here you just need to select what you are interested in. There are topics that require serious preparation, perhaps even inquiries, meetings with some people who have information on a particular area. Interesting things are told by the residents themselves. It's always a lot of work.

The selection of material is one of the most exciting moments, and here it is important to control yourself. You search, read, and it is so captivating that by three o'clock in the morning you can find yourself somewhere on the other side of Moscow. Because when you are preparing material, one fact clings to another: but the surname slipped through, and not to clarify whether ... It is very difficult, but it is even more difficult to choose something when you have collected a huge amount of material and understand that it is impossible to tell everything , - it is always a pity to remove some of the information.

Then comes another very important moment: you have to link all the objects... It is clear that if the tour is thematic, for example, our Moscow Embassy, ​​then everything is more or less clear. And if this is a tour along the street and there are absolutely heterogeneous buildings, absolutely different stories, but you have to somehow connect them together, you should get a story.

I had a wonderful tour, I led her along Volkhonka, and one of the excursionists, as an intelligent person, warned me in advance that she needed to pick up her child from kindergarten, so she would leave quietly in 50 minutes in English. And I'm leading a tour and I understand that 50 minutes have passed, an hour has passed, and the woman is still with us. And I say to her: “Excuse me, please, but it seems to you that the child needs to be taken away from the kindergarten.” She says: “You understand, I can’t leave. You finish the story and are so catchy with the next one that we will now see further that I can’t leave in any way. ” That was the right excursion, since it happened.

There are also purely technical points, special ones that also need to be taken into account: how to stand up correctly so that everyone can hear you, so that you can respond to facial expressions, eyes, so that you can see the sightseers and at the same time not prevent them from seeing objects; how to stand up to show the object as much as possible; how to stand up so that you can talk about several objects without leaving your seat. When preparing a tour, it takes extra time. For example, I walk down the street and start, to the surprise of passers-by, running from one place to another, crossing the street, coming back in order to understand where it is better for me to put the group. And here you need to show imagination.

There are many other nuances. For example, you need to take into account the location of pedestrian crossings: where are they located, is it convenient for you to cross from this side to the opposite one, so that later you do not return to this crossing through another crossing, somehow go further along the route, because people are not interested in the same place to go back and forth. All in all, this is a really big job.

- Let's try to name the pros and cons of your profession.

- I was asked this question on excursions ... But it turns out that the minuses turn into pluses. Of course, this is a job that requires great physical exertion, because you need to move a lot both in the process of preparation and during the excursion. And they last sometimes two or three hours, and sometimes six or seven.

The weather that we do not choose, and our Moscow weather does not please, let's say, most of the year. The next thing is that you always work, because you must be aware of the topic of modern Moscow, know everything new that appears, new books about Moscow, new information, new objects. There is so much material that you will never be able to master it completely, but you always strive for it. As a result, you constantly train your memory, your mind, you are always on the move and constantly in the fresh air.

And yet people are different, and you make a lot of effort in order to keep attention. When this happens, I feel a tremendous moral upsurge, because I give my energy to people, and in return they give theirs. I always feel emotionally charged after the tour. Everything is interconnected here, and if you like it, then you enjoy it more.

Today, the city excursion bureau has developed more than 80 topics dedicated to the history and modernity of Moscow and its famous citizens.

Traveling can be called one of the most popular and vibrant human hobbies. Many people love to travel to new places, filling their lives with unforgettable travel experiences. Not every resident of Russia can afford a vacation abroad, but he has access to excursions to interesting places in his country. Recently, the number of people wishing to discover the amazing corners of the Russian Federation has greatly increased, and this circumstance has served as an impetus for business people to engage in excursion business.

Every entrepreneur has questions: how to open a tour desk, how much money you need to invest in the business at the start, whether the business will bring profit and where to start this process. It turns out that the organization of tourism activities is not difficult, and a person interested in it can easily build such a business and achieve success in it.

Starting a Business - Activity Planning

Before you start organizing any business, you need to make a plan. It will include the following items:

1. Studying the demand market and the activities of competitors.
2. Choosing an office for the future bureau.
3. Selection of necessary documents for business.
4. Development of excursion routes.
5. Solving transport issues.
6. Recruitment.
7. Advertising campaign.

After collecting, studying and analyzing all the necessary information, the businessman must draw up a business plan for his future enterprise and calculate the approximate costs of opening it.

And now about all this in more detail.

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Study of tourism legislation, preparation of documents for business

Having decided to organize a business in the field of tourism, a businessman must study tourism legislation, and then prepare the documents necessary to open his own business. The main law that defines the principles of state policy in the field of tourism and regulates the rights and obligations of owners of tour agencies and their clients is the Federal Law “On the Basics of Tourist Activities in Russian Federation"of November 24, 1996, N 132-FZ.

In order to better imagine future activities, experienced businessmen advise beginners to attend special thematic courses, for example, "Organization of a travel agency from A to Z." Firms and consulting groups conduct such courses on a monthly basis and even provide their students with ready-made sets of all documents necessary for the excursion business.

To open a tour desk, a business person in the Russian Federation does not need to acquire a license or other special permission. All that is required of him is the registration of an individual entrepreneur or a legal entity. As the main documents, in addition to the registration certificate, it will be necessary to have independently developed service contracts, contracts with transport companies, museums, catering points, job descriptions for staff, and memos for sightseers.

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Demand market, competition study and development of excursion routes

Any novice entrepreneur understands that his business will be profitable if there is a demand for services. Therefore, in order to organize a tour desk in your hometown, you need to see whether this city, its environs, or settlements located at a short distance from it, a large number of attractions and beautiful places. After all, before you start developing routes to the same Moscow or Suzdal, other distant cities, you must first try to conduct excursions closer to the "home". There are many amazing places in Russia with rich history and beautiful nature.

If there is already a tour desk in the city, it will be useful to familiarize yourself with the offers and routes of competitors. When setting the cost of excursions, you need to focus on the average salary of city residents and think about how much they can pay for the trip. The main criterion is the availability of the excursion for everyone, and although the price should be made more attractive than that of competitors, it should not be too low.

When developing a route plan, several factors must be considered. Firstly, you must definitely study the history of your native land, its customs, get acquainted with the biographies of famous countrymen. To do this, you will need to visit the local museum of local lore, talk with its employees, look through books about your region and chat with old-timers who will gladly tell you about interesting legends and past events.

Secondly, routes should be developed taking into account the age audience. If these are excursions for children, you should definitely introduce elements of entertainment into them, organize game moments, for example, dress up the guide as a fairy-tale character, come up with a thematic competition, etc. Children's excursions should not be prolonged in time, because children quickly lose interest in one and the same occupation.

Thirdly, you need to carefully work out the time spent on each route (from 45 minutes to the whole day), provide for stops along the way, recommend a cafe for lunch. If the tour takes several days, it requires tourists to spend the night in a hotel and provide them with food.

Fourthly, the plan for visiting city attractions should differ from the plan of competitors, for this purpose it is advisable to select other monuments for a city tour or, in addition to the main program, include “not promoted”, but interesting places which can be visited at an additional cost. The more interesting and unusual the tour, the more people who want to visit it, because "the earth is full of rumors."

An important circumstance is the conduct of an advertising campaign. In addition to advertisements in the media, handouts, booklets in stores, advertising in in social networks it is imperative to create a website on the Internet, thanks to which more people will learn about the bureau, see the plan of excursions, get acquainted with their program and prices in detail.

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Office for the tour desk and its staff

Business at the initial stage implies a minimum expenditure of funds. Therefore, the organizer of the bureau is at first almost its only employee. In his own apartment, he can receive calls from those who want to go on an excursion or conduct it himself. But over time, the presence of an office becomes a necessity, as well as an increase in the number of employees. It is better to find a room for an office in a busy place so that it catches the eye of many. A bright sign and a beautiful showcase are a must. The interior decoration of the office should not be too expensive or extremely "soviet", but cozy and bright, so that the client feels comfortable in it.

The main employee of the bureau is the guide. He must be a competent specialist, have a well-trained, pleasant voice, and be endearing. He needs to constantly learn something new about sights and famous people, adding Interesting Facts in the texts of excursions. In addition to tour guides, the company will need an accountant, a manager and drivers. The head of the bureau can agree with a transport company to provide a bus for routes on certain days, a larger company has its own transport and drivers.

Work with tourists (continued)

Always carefully weigh what you say. Use reputable sources, double-check the information several times. Even if incorrect information is often found, it does not become correct from this and there is no need to tell tourists about it. As sources of information, scientific lectures, specialized museum publications, local history magazines, books written by historians are preferred. Television, newspapers, magazines, the Internet are in last place, because. unverified or distorted information predominates there.

What the "tour" created on the basis of stories, fictions, TV shows and modern books turns into, you can read here:
" Night excursions are one of the favorite summer entertainments of bored citizens and curious guests of the capital, which was confirmed by a full house last night. Your humble could not help but poke his nose into this industry, grabbing a notebook for barley) I single out nonsense in italics, I comment offtopic. Since we were driving away from Sukharevskaya, the Sukharevskaya tower that previously stood there was the first to suffer from the guide’s fantasy:

Archers studied with Peter at the navigation school. Here's to you, grandmother, and "Forward, midshipmen!"
But the main thing is, of course, Jacob Bruce, who, as you know, had an observatory at the Navigation School. According to the guide, he was a universal genius cooler than Leonardo da Vinci and no less clear-sighted than NaSTIRdamus! Uncle was very stubborn, indeed - he pestered everyone with his prophecies!)
At night tower dome sashes (sashes! domes! where did you see towers with domes?), told us revealed, and from there the iron dragon flew- including with three heads. You will never guess what the dark people of the 18th century took for a dragon. Give up? Messerschmitt! No, I'm serious. Wilhelm Emil Messerschmitt in general, it turns out, had nothing to do with it, because the guide said: Messerschmitts were built according to the drawings of Jacob Bruce that the Germans stole from us. But, apparently, the Nazis are far from the chicks of Petrov's nest: Russian fighters are so severe that they don't need a runway. The doors of the dome opened - and flew!" Worthy of a full reading

During the tour, you do not need to tell which of the famous people where they live, where they are registered. No need to increase the crowds of fans and thieves. Leave people the right to a peaceful life. Otherwise it might look like this:

“The other day, thieves got into the St. Petersburg apartment of the popular actor and singer Mikhail Boyarsky. The criminals managed to open the lock on the metal door and enter the dwelling.
- It seems to me that my apartment was chosen not randomly, but purposefully, - says the singer. - It's just that guides in our city often show tourists my house, they say that Boyarsky lives here. Perhaps some visiting guest performers decided to rob me. It was only by a miracle that they failed to do so."

When building a story, do not forget that there are people in the group who perceive information differently: most, of course, are visuals, but there are also kinesthetics and auditory. Therefore, when describing objects, use words that characterize not only the width and volume of the house, but also the bright color of the stained-glass windows, the rustle of leaves near the house, the irregularities of the bricks in the masonry. There are people for whom it is enough to look at the monument, and there are those who need to touch and feel it to get acquainted with the object.

The guide only transmits information taken from trusted sources. He does not express his own opinion, much less impose it. People go to rest, to learn something new, but not to receive moral instruction or initiation into any religion. There should be no pressure or aggression in the tone of the conversation. People feel it, and then the trip turns into torture, into the imposition of an opinion.

"As a professional historian, I know perfectly well how to captivate the audience with the most interesting stories on historical topics. For my lectures, I prepared dozens of examples so that the lecture presented under the recording would not be too "dry" and academic, so that the audience would be interested. Here, it is not required at all prepare material at the level of lectures.It is enough to know the basic facts and tell stories on this topic, since there are more than enough of them.
This is what happens abroad. In addition to the fact that the general level of knowledge of guides is an order of magnitude higher than in Moscow travel agencies, no one is trying to teach tourists about life, to preach their religious views and political views to them. Perhaps this is due to the fact that a slightly different contingent gets on excursions there. Although I can’t say that people who have never seen anything in their lives and have never been abroad travel on local routes. But why is the level of guides "for export" much higher than the level of "home-grown"?
We drove back without a guide, avoiding a rather boring lecture about his religious views mixed with leavened patriotism. And I don’t envy the part of the group with which he stayed, despite the fact that they had the opportunity to just walk around this incredible city...."

Tell interestingly, with expression, exciting:
"... we were taken on an excursion to Lomonosov. The guide spoke so tediously that I wanted to hang myself! It's just torture."
"... during the guide's story about the defense and surrender of Odessa, the men cried (really wiped their tears)"

If you have to lead a tour in the temple, you need to get permission (blessing) from the priest in advance. If you received it, do not forget that the story must be conducted in a relatively quiet voice, without disturbing the believers in the temple. A loud voice in a temple is inappropriate. It is also worth remembering that they do not stand with their backs to the altar, to the icons. You can stand sideways to them or slightly to the side, forming a triangle with the group.

The story should be interesting, comprehensive and not turn into a dry description of the facts. For example, you pass by an enterprise, TV tower, Mosfilm, botanical garden- tell us what interesting excursions there are, how you can get on them, how to get here.

"Yes, this is the misfortune of many storytellers and guides: they do not always understand that the interlocutors may be interested in the reasons for unusual (illogical) technical solutions, and not just the history of creation"

"We were on a tour of Minsk on July 25. I liked Minsk very much, but the guide Margarita did not. The tour was not informative, only dry historical facts, dates. Margarita herself was languishing from the heat and constantly complained that she was ill."

Speak slowly enough with expression. The pace of speech and its presentation should be such that you want to listen, so that you can remember and understand what you hear. Otherwise it might look like this:

"... I was just dumbfounded. Not only did my brain not have time to digest the information, it simply did not perceive some :-) The guide spoke very quickly, very self-confidently, not always coherently, and such things that contradict school textbooks (in particular - on the formation of St. Petersburg)"

"... the guide, a young girl, a student, very carefully and to the point told about the city and the legends of the city. At the end of the tour, applause was heard on the bus, the guide and the driver were somewhat embarrassed. :) And we didn’t even want to leave them"

Summarize what you see, sum up what has been said. This will help tourists better remember and understand what they saw.

"I was convinced that a guide is still needed, because he structures what he saw and heard."

If they try to interrupt you with a question in the middle of the story, do not pay attention. When you finish the story, you can turn to the person, ask him to repeat his question.

If during the story something sudden happens around that distracts the attention of people (for example, a wedding procession, dogs, squirrels), it is worth pausing a little and then continuing.

When building a story, speak from the general to the specific. First, tell us where we are, what surrounds us, and then proceed to describe a specific object. You cannot start the story right away with some story that happened in a certain house. People simply do not understand what kind of house they are talking about, where to look and where they are in general.

Use logical transitions. Don't jump from fact to fact. A bunch of little information nobody needs. Fragmentary information is digested with difficulty.

When you speak important information Please provide links to sources. Otherwise, your speech may be considered unfounded or fiction.

It is clear that it is difficult after the 300th or 1000th time to speak as if for the first time. But still, the opinion of people and the emotions they received about the walk depend on your acting talent, inspiration.

"And most of all I remember the guides, which are included in the price of tickets, and I listened to lectures from as many as three. They tell so vividly, with soul and in colors! I even started recording the last, third girl guide"

The guide is an organizer, but not a driver of people. If you work in a group all day, it would be appropriate to warn everyone before starting the trip that at the exits you first tell interesting things for 5-10 minutes, and then - free time. Because people are often nervous, they look at you - they worry that they will not have time to take photos and buy souvenirs. It is important to give them time for this. Otherwise it might look like this:

"I was in Kostroma 1 time, on an excursion. A terrible impression was left - the dog's cold, although the rest of the boat trip was kept warm. The tour was crumpled, the guide was a loud nervous aunt, commanded a lot, told little."

Do not keep people in one place for a long time. 10 minutes is enough. Then people get distracted, worried that they won’t have time to take pictures, and in cold weather they freeze.

Don't wave your arms around pointlessly, track your gestures. With hand movements, you direct the eyes of tourists, helping them not only to look, but also to see.

When communicating with people, do not use excessively dark sunglasses. People should see your eyes, this is respect. If the sun interferes a lot, a wide-brimmed hat will help.

Depending on the position of the sun, during the story, position the people so that the sun does not hit them in the eyes. If the weather is hot - put the group in the shade, if it's cold, on the contrary, choose a sunny, wind-sheltered place.

If lunch is planned on the route, do not forget that the guide sits down to eat last. First, he must check all the tables - how they seated people, whether everyone has enough cutlery, what exactly was served to tourists (compare with the information of the travel agency). If you are traveling by bus, make sure that the driver is also fed. Tour guides, drivers, managers dine at a separate table from tourists.

Let's get the amount of information that people can absorb. No need to overload them with unnecessary facts, abstract topics and specific terms. Take small breaks. They are necessary for the understanding and assimilation of information.

How much do you have to say to the tour guide? For example, the tour is designed for 6 hours. If this is a walk around the city, then the guide says 6 astronomical hours. If outside the city - 6 academic, i.e. every 45 minutes he has the right to take a break for 15 minutes. On the way back, the guide, as a rule, does not speak. Tourists at this time are resting, someone is sleeping, someone is sharing their impressions with a neighbor, someone is listening to music.

Sometimes on excursions there are people who lack communication. They ask questions they don't need answers to. They need time and attention. If you have the opportunity, give it to them.

If a tourist expresses his point of view on the information provided and tells a lie, do not argue with him. Everyone has the right to be wrong. Your task is to give knowledge, and to assimilate it is the personal work of everyone. Maybe he will, maybe not, it's voluntary.

If you had a country bus tour and you are returning back, warn the tourists in advance that the bus follows without intermediate stops to the starting point of the tour. People should be informed about this in advance. Otherwise, at the entrance to the city by bus, a procession of "walkers" will be arranged to the driver and everyone will ask to stop him there. Such situations often make drivers nervous. After all, a tour bus is not a taxi, and the driver should not drop groups of people here and there, slowing down, changing lanes and wasting time. The tour guide also monitors the trip time. At the end of the tour, he must document the time the bus stopped when the last tourist left it. Otherwise, the travel company will overpay for the bus transfer time.

At the end of the tour, remind the tourists that you can answer their questions. And there are usually a lot of questions.

The guide tries to make the walk interesting, filled with reliable information. Moreover, it is presented in such a way that tourists understand and remember a lot. They gain knowledge and the opportunity for further reflection and, perhaps, independent reading and walks. It's great when the work of one person encourages you to find interesting things in new objects.

At the end of the tour, be sure to sum up - tell briefly where you have been, what you have seen. Thank your colleagues for organizing the walk and the tourists for their attention. This is usually followed by applause :) Your reward for a job well done.