Step-by-step business plan on how to open excursions. Emelyanov B.V. Guided tour. Types of excursions, details about the main things

Today it is difficult to surprise people with familiar sights; ocean shores and palm trees are already a thing of the past. Now tourists are interested in all sorts of delights, which include industrial or social tourism.

What is the secret of popularity? Many office workers have no idea how factories work, and some are eager to see production. Moreover, this is a fashionable destination with virtually no competition, which is one of the few types of tourism activities for industrial zones or post-industrial centers.

Industrial excursions gained particular popularity in the early 2000s, when many “stopped” industrial facilities and disbanded military units appeared. Today everything has begun to change dramatically: people again feel the desire to develop and travel. Moreover, the start came from where many did not expect, the industry was “warmed up” by games. “Metro 2033”, the cult series “Fallout 4” and the newly discovered “Stalker” did the main thing, showing the audience the dark beauty of the post-industrial world.
If you are from Chelyabinsk, Magnitogorsk or any industrial city, you can start working on your client base.

Make it interesting, and most importantly, unusual route for an industrial excursion, it’s not difficult. Any city, especially a large one, has industrial zones in addition to historical attractions, museums and architectural monuments. Particularly exciting are old, abandoned sites, oil and coal mines, or fully operational enterprises.

Objects for industrial tours

Take a closer look at your city and you will see many places that will pique the interest of visitors. Moreover, it could be the capital or distant and almost forgotten towns.

Examples for conducting industrial excursions in Russia:

  • Khavrinsky unfinished building (Moscow): the object is located in Moscow and attracts the attention of extreme sports enthusiasts with legends and myths. Today the ruins are surrounded by a fence and are guarded. You can enter the abandoned hospital building only with special permission.
  • Blue Crystal (Moscow): a high-rise building that was built as an educational and business center. The object may be interesting for excursions.
  • Old Nevyansky plant ( Sverdlovsk region): object of the metallurgical industry. Currently, it is one of the attractions for guests of the region.
  • “Fallen factories” (Baikalsk, Chapaevsk, Asbest): excursions are conducted to the sites of enterprises that have ceased to exist.
  • Metallurgy (Magnitogorsk): a region of heavy engineering, has many objects that are of interest throughout the world.


How to organize an excursion tour to an industrial zone, where to start

To organize such an excursion, it is necessary to develop a route. Knowing the city well, this is quite easy to do. You just need to highlight several starting points for a self-driving tour and a walking tour. After completing the roadmap with a list of routes, you need to post it on the website.

Website creation. An important point for any tourism activity. An important point is that the site should offer several tours with different routes.

Tours to the territory of factories and non-operating industrial “attractions” differ significantly in organizational issues. This is due to the convenience of access, the opportunity to spend some time directly on site and the safety of tourists. It is better not to linger in the emergency buildings of old workshops and follow the route.

How to organize a tour of an existing enterprise

It is necessary to request permission from the plant management for possible visits to the enterprise by a group of tourists. This is due to the need to obtain a pass. The probability of success in this case will not be 100%, and the time of the excursion is chosen by the enterprise, as well as responsible person from his staff.

When planning an excursion, it is imperative to study the history of the development of the plant, which is an excursion object. The group leader must understand the equipment and know what each object is, have accurate information and clearly answer questions.

An important point is the form of ownership of the object; if it is a state company, it is quite possible to obtain permission to conduct tours.

Excursions to inactive objects

Excursions can be scheduled for a specific date or conducted on an individual basis, so you need to set a collection date for tourists.

Development of an event plan. It is necessary to lead the group harmoniously. Attention should also be paid to the placement of people and the movement of the group. It is important that all visitors can hear the guide’s story and see all the interesting places and features of the object.

Types of excursions, details about the main things

There are three types of excursions to the industrial zone:

  • External: the tour takes place in the city and near an industrial site. This type is classified as introductory, as it does not allow you to see the work of an industrial company from the inside. Such excursions are of interest to city guests who want to see all the sights of the region in a short period of time.
  • Internal: a group of tourists has the opportunity not only to inspect objects from afar, but also to plunge into the atmosphere of the company. It is worth noting that you can visit the industrial zone only after a preliminary agreement with the company management. It is also necessary to take into account the possible presence of a access system at the enterprise.
  • Stalker: the group is invited to visit abandoned enterprises, plants, factories, military bases. In Russia, stalker excursions are also conducted in old “extinct” villages.

Excursions to an industrial zone are the best marketing tool for a certain territory. That is why it is worth considering this direction not only for private entrepreneurs, but also for local authorities in order to attract investors to a specific facility.

How much money do you need to start?

To organize activities you will need to invest 10 thousand rubles. The experience of “experienced” entrepreneurs shows that industrial tourism does not require significant costs. The exception is for self-driving tours; you need a car with all-wheel drive and an average level of comfort in the cabin. The costs in this case will be from 700 thousand rubles, which also includes the price vehicle. The most difficult thing is to plan a route along “abandoned” roads. This word should mean not only enterprises, but also empty villages. This is also an ideal place for local organization. You will need a full-fledged campsite or camping, if you are planning a tour for several days. In this case, the costs will exceed 1 million rubles.

The simplest version of city excursions will require no more than 5 thousand at the start of the activity. Low investments must be compensated by the organizational talent of the entrepreneur, since absolutely all the work will be done by him.

Working with tourists (continued)

Always weigh what you say carefully. Use reputable sources, double-check the information several times. Even if incorrect information occurs frequently, this does not make it correct and there is no need to tell it to tourists. Preferred sources of information are scientific lectures, specialized museum publications, local history magazines, and books written by historians. Television, newspapers, magazines, the Internet are on last place, because unverified or distorted information prevails there.

You can read what the “excursion”, created from stories, fiction, TV shows and modern books, turns into here:
" Night excursions are one of the favorite summer entertainments for bored citizens and curious guests of the capital, which was confirmed by the sold-out last night. Yours truly couldn’t help but poke his nose into this industry, grabbing a notebook for pearl barley) I highlight nonsense italics, I’m commenting offtopic. As we were leaving Sukharevskaya, the first to suffer from the guide’s imagination was the Sukharevskaya Tower that had previously stood there:

When building a story, do not forget that in the group there are people who perceive information differently: the majority, of course, are visual learners, but there are also kinesthetic and auditory learners. 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 rustling of leaves near the house, and the unevenness 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 to know the object.

The guide only conveys information taken from trusted sources. He does not express his own opinion, much less impose it. People go to relax, 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 this and then the trip turns into torture, into the imposition of an opinion.

“As a professional historian, I know perfectly well how to captivate an audience with interesting stories on historical topics. For my lectures, I prepared dozens of examples so that the recorded lecture would not be too “dry” and academic, so that the listeners would be interested. Here it is not at all necessary prepare material at the lecture level. It is enough to know the basic facts and spin stories on this topic, fortunately there are more than enough of them.
This is what happens abroad. Besides the fact that the general level of knowledge of guides is an order of magnitude higher than in Moscow travel agencies, no one tries to teach tourists about life, preach to them their religious views and political views. Perhaps this is due to the fact that a slightly different contingent goes on excursions there. Although I can’t say that local routes are ridden by people who have never seen anything in their lives or been abroad. But why is the level of “export” guides so much higher than the level of “homegrown” ones?
We rode 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 whom he stayed, despite the fact that they had the opportunity to just walk around this incredible city...."

Tell the story in an interesting, expressive, exciting way:
"...we were taken on an excursion to Lomonosov. The guide spoke so boringly 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 (they actually wiped away their tears)”

If you are going to lead a tour of the temple, you need to obtain permission (blessing) from the priest in advance. If you receive it, do not forget that the story must be told in a relatively quiet voice, without disturbing the believers in the temple. A loud voice is inappropriate in a temple. It is also worth remembering that they do not stand with their backs to the altar or 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 facts. For example, you drive past an enterprise, a 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 problem with many storytellers and tour guides: they do not always understand that their interlocutors may be interested in the reasons for unusual (illogical) technical solutions, and not just the history of creation.”

"We went on a tour of Minsk on July 25. I liked Minsk very much, but the guide Margarita did not. The tour was not educational, just dry historical facts, dates. Margarita herself was languishing in the heat and constantly complained that she felt bad."

Speak rather slowly and with expression. The pace of speech and its delivery should be such that you want to listen, so that you can remember and comprehend what you heard. Otherwise it might look like this:

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

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

Summarize what you saw, summarize what was 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, don’t pay attention. When you finish the story, you can turn to the person and ask him to repeat his question.

If during the story something sudden happens around that distracts people's attention (for example, a wedding procession, dogs, squirrels), it is worth taking a short pause 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 will not understand what kind of house we are talking about, where to look and where they are in general.

Use logical transitions. Don't jump from fact to fact. No one needs a bunch of little information. Fragmentary information is difficult to digest.

When you speak important information, give a link to the sources. Otherwise, your speech may be considered unfounded or fiction.

It is clear that after the three hundredth or thousandth time it is difficult to tell it as if it were the first time. But still, people’s opinions and the emotions they receive about the walk depend on your acting talent and inspiration.

“And most of all I remember the guides, who are included in the ticket price, and I listened to lectures from as many as three. They talk so vividly, with soul and in colors! I even started recording the last, third girl guide on a voice recorder.”

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 the start of the trip that at the exits you will first tell something interesting for 5-10 minutes, and then - free time. Because people are often nervous, they look at you - they worry that they won’t have time to take photos and buy souvenirs. It is important to give them time for this. Otherwise it might look like this:

“I’ve been to Kostroma once, on an excursion. I was left with a terrible impression - dog-like cold, although the rest of the boat trip was warm. The excursion was crumpled, the guide was a loud, nervous lady, she commanded a lot, told little.”

Don't keep people in one place for too long. 10 minutes is enough. Then people get distracted, worry that they won’t have time to take a photo, and in cold weather they freeze.

Don't wave your arms senselessly, watch your gestures. With your hand movements you direct the gaze of tourists, helping them not only to look, but also to see.

When interacting with people, do not wear sunglasses that are too dark. People should see your eyes, this is respect. If the sun is very bothersome, a wide-brimmed hat will help.

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

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

Give us the amount of information that people can absorb. There is no need to overload them with unnecessary facts, abstract topics and specific terms. Take small breaks. They are necessary for understanding and assimilation of information.

How much should a tour guide say? For example, the excursion lasts 6 hours. If this is a walk around the city, then the guide says 6 astronomical hours. If outside the city - 6 academic ones, 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 are relaxing at this time, some are sleeping, some are sharing their impressions with a neighbor, some are 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 make mistakes. Your task is to give knowledge, and to assimilate it is everyone’s personal job. Maybe he will learn it, maybe he won’t, it’s voluntary.

If you had a country bus excursion and are returning back, warn tourists in advance that the bus goes without intermediate stops to the starting point of the excursion. People should be informed about this in advance. Otherwise, when approaching the city by bus, there will be a procession of “walkers” to the driver and everyone will ask him to stop there. Such situations often make drivers nervous. After all sightseeing bus- not a taxi and the driver should not drop off groups of people here and there, slowing down, changing lanes and wasting time. The guide also monitors the travel time. At the end of the excursion, he must document the time the bus stopped when the last tourist left. Otherwise Travel Company will overpay for the duration of the bus transfer.

At the end of the tour, remind 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, he presents it 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 walking. It's great when the work of one person encourages you to find interesting things in new objects.

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

Tripster changed my life. This site allowed me to throw away the prepared stack of resumes and do something that has been bringing joy, pleasant amounts of money and incredible amount interesting people. And all this in a mode convenient for me, and not five days a week from nine to six.

I have great affection for the Tripster team for their clarity, honesty, efficiency (bordering on the fantastic) and openness to new ideas. Through their efforts, the site is constantly improving, and rare technical difficulties are solved as if by magic. But the most important thing: these kind people are doing everything that would be difficult and boring for me to do on my own. If it weren’t for Tripster, I would probably have put off mastering my life’s work until later. I became a tour guide thanks to Tripster.

I accidentally came across it a couple of years ago, read the stories of guides from Istanbul and St. Petersburg, and realized that I also wanted to show travelers Izborsk - one of the oldest cities in Russia. Now, after hundreds of walks with guests, I can say with confidence: Tripster is the best service for booking excursions in Russia. It's beautiful and comfortable - it's nice to look at, and everything works on it. It is sincere - guides, support service, editors - all living people - travelers feel it, and you will feel it too. And he is active - Tripster is seriously working on promoting excursions, and during the season I receive 80% of orders through Tripster, although I have my own website and work with several other sites - but they are not so effective. Tripster really makes the world a little better, and I'm glad that I'm also involved in this cause. The best audience comes to us from Tripster - smart, educated, curious, open to everything new people, with whom it is a great pleasure to work. We have been in the tourism market for 5 years, and we have something to compare with. Of all imaginable partners, Tripster is by far the best. The work of the support service is incredibly professional; these amazing people are ready to personally deal with any problem that arises, help with advice and simply support. And another extremely important point for us is fantastic marketing. With such competition, is it possible for those who have been working for a long time and have recruited great amount

excellent reviews from guides to get into the “stars”? We can say with complete confidence that this is possible. Everyone, everyone, everyone who in one way or another puts effort into this wonderful project! You are crazy beautiful! You can negotiate with the traveler directly, without intermediaries, and resolve issues on shore. An excellent commission-booking system; it is much nicer to think that the guide himself does not pay anything to the site for accommodation, since this is the price of booking by the traveler and at the same time a guarantee that the excursion will take place. Notifications arrive on time, it is possible to mark busy days and hours in the calendar, a convenient interface, and communication with mail. Support will always help resolve issues. In general, the best service for guides: there are many opportunities for creativity and creating new excursions. Thank you very much to the entire Tripster team for their work!

During the six months of working with Tripster, I made many friends, visiting my favorite city. Namely friends, because every traveler, coming to a meeting, is determined to get to know, first of all, not a historical object or museum exhibits, but namely interesting person, capable of expanding the range of his knowledge in a particular area.

And the best way to find new friends who can appreciate your knowledge and hospitality is the Tripster service. This is a professional team, always ready to help you with any questions regarding the organization of a particular excursion. The main thing is your idea! Offer travelers exactly what you know best and what you love to do, and the results will not be long in coming. I began receiving orders for my excursions from the first days of posting on the service. Come up with your own original route or entertainment in your hometown. I wish you success in our common interesting and exciting business!

Introduction……………………………………………………………..3

1. Subject and ideas of the excursion methodology.

1.1 Subject and types of excursion methods……5

1.2. Methodology for preparing excursions………………...8

2. Classification of methodological techniques.

2.1 Classification of methodological techniques………….14

2.2 Methodological techniques for display……………….…...17

2.3 Methodological techniques of the story………………….25

3. Special methodological techniques.

3.1.Technique for demonstrating a visual aid………35

3.2 Mastery of methodological techniques by the guide………………………………………………………..39

4. Techniques for conducting excursions.

4.1 Technique for conducting excursions………………………42

Conclusion……………………………………………………………..51

Bibliography……………..……………….…52

Introduction.

Methodology in the broad sense of the word is a set of ways to expediently carry out this or that work, solve a problem, achieve a goal, and in a narrower sense it is a set of specific methodological techniques for conducting lectures, conversations, excursions on a certain topic and for a certain group.

The methodology is divided into general and specific.

An excursion is a methodically thought-out display of places of interest, historical and cultural monuments, a display based on an analysis of the objects in front of the sightseers, as well as the events associated with them.

The guide is not indifferent to what the tourist sees, how he will understand and perceive what he saw and heard.

The guide, with his explanations, leads tourists to the necessary conclusions, and the effectiveness of the excursion depends on this.

It follows from this that the essence of an excursion can be defined as follows: a visual process of cognition of the surrounding world, a process built on pre-selected objects located in natural conditions or located in the halls of museums, exhibitions, workshops of a sculptor, artist, etc.

The excursion technique is a private technique, since it is associated with the process of disseminating knowledge based on one form of work. The excursion methodology is a set of requirements and rules for the excursion, as well as the sum of methodological techniques for preparing and conducting excursions different types, on different topics and for different groups of people.

The excursion work methodology answers the following questions:

1. Why is the excursion prepared and conducted (goal, objectives)?

2. What issues are covered during the excursion (what is its content devoted to)?

3. How to conduct a tour (methodological techniques)?

The excursion methodology consists of several independent, interconnected parts:

Methods for developing a new topic for this bureau;

Methods for the guide to develop a topic that is new to him, but has already been developed in this bureau;

Methods of preparing a guide for conducting the next excursion;

Methods of conducting an excursion;

Methods after excursion work.

1. Subject and types of excursion techniques.

1.1 Subject and types of excursion techniques.

The method of conducting an excursion is a set of techniques used when conducting an excursion, which are designed to find a way to more easily and effectively achieve the purpose of the excursion, to help tourists more easily and more firmly grasp the content of the excursion.

Methodological techniques for conducting excursions are divided into general, personal and individual. General techniques are the basis for conducting any excursion, regardless of its theme, composition, excursion group. Personal, in the end, are those techniques that are used in excursions of a certain type (industrial, museum, natural history, transport, walking), or in excursions conducted for a specific purpose. people are used to expressing themselves to the excursion audience (kids, youth, adults). It is no secret that personal methods, focusing on the main requirements of the excursion methodology, develop and specify more effective methods for conducting excursions of this type. Everyone knows that, in the end, individual techniques are unique methods of observing a single object or telling a story about it, for example, showing a building standing on the shore of a reservoir, which on a fine summer day is finally reflected on its surface. And there is no need to even say that such techniques are usually the intellectual property of the first tour guide and are not, finally, used by everyone who, therefore, conducts such excursions. Indeed, isolated techniques also include those whose implementation is limited to a certain time of year or day.

The excursion methodology is considered in several aspects: as the basis for the professional skills of guides; as a mechanism that improves the “feed” of material; as a process of streamlining the activities of a guide. The technique helps tourists see, remember and understand much more than in a lecture covering the same topic. This happens because the lecturer’s methodology is largely based on various kinds of messages and descriptions, the lecture story is conducted in isolation from the objects of description. The excursion methodology consists of several independent, interconnected parts: - methods for developing a topic new for a given bureau; - methods for the guide to develop a topic that is new to him, but already developed in this bureau; - methods for preparing the guide for the next excursion; - methods of conducting an excursion; - methods of post-excursion work.

Aspects of the excursion methodology: the basis of the professional skills of the guide, the mechanism for presenting material, the process of streamlining the activities of the guide during the preparation and conduct of the excursion.

The excursion technique is associated with such concepts as story and show. To the question about the relationship between showing and telling on an excursion, the methodology gives a clear answer: from showing to telling. You should start with a show, with visual or other (tactile, olfactory) impressions, and then introduce a story. The technique takes into account the ability of an object to attract attention and uses various means of enhancing the attention of tourists.

Another objective of the methodology is to suggest the most effective use of methodological techniques for conducting an excursion. The excursion methodology takes into account the issues of emotional impact on tourists.

The subject of excursion methodology is the purposeful study, systematization, formulation, explanation and practical application of means and methods of education and training, as well as methodological techniques with the help of which employees of excursion institutions carry out their activities. The excursion methodology summarizes the experience of conducting excursions, develops and offers methodological techniques that have proven themselves in practice and ensure the highest efficiency in the disclosure and perception of the topic.

1.2 Methodology for preparing excursions.

The development of the excursion is carried out by a creative group consisting of 3-10 people, depending on the complexity of the topic. Each of the participants works on one of the sections or one of subtopics excursions. The head of the creative team combines and edits the prepared material.

Preparation is divided into two stages:

Preliminary - selection and study of factual materials (i.e. the process of initial accumulation of knowledge on a given topic), carried out by a creative group, selection of objects on which the excursion will be based;

Direct - drawing up an excursion route, processing factual material.

In addition, work is being done on the structure of the methodological development: introduction, main part, conclusion; a control text is compiled, the methodological conduct of the excursion is analyzed (determining the most appropriate methodological techniques of showing and telling specifically for this or that part of the excursion), a “guide’s portfolio” is formed, and an individual text is prepared. The methodological development is a condensed plan, a document that determines how to conduct a given excursion, in what sequence to organize the display of monuments, what methodology is advisable to use for an effective excursion. Here the guide should find advice on the sequence in which to show and tell, what materials from the “guide’s portfolio” and when it is best to demonstrate. Methodological development is compiled for each topic of the excursion.

Methodological development is a mandatory document, without which an excursion on this topic cannot be carried out.

A mandatory document is custom text, which gives the guide the right to conduct a tour on this topic. Properly composed methodological development helps the guide to more fully reveal the topic.

Photo: Official portal of the Mayor and Government of Moscow

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

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

— The Moscow Museum, where I work, celebrates its 120th anniversary this year. And all these years, the museum staff has been studying the city, its history, monitoring 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 at even the most trivial excursions.

There is, of course, a mandatory block of excursions. As a rule, this is a sightseeing tour of Moscow, Red Square, and the historical center, which are intended 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 don’t know the city well. It seems to a person: I’m here, I’ll have time to do everything - and he passes by interesting places without paying attention to them. But when interest is shown, a person, as a rule, becomes our regular client. That is, someone who came once begins to come constantly. It is very joyful to see how, year after year, the popularity of pedestrian and bus excursions is growing: more and more citizens want to know as much as possible about the capital.

But there is another block of routes - those that we come up with ourselves. These are always unusual walks where we show the city from a new side. They can be thematic, dedicated to certain dates or events. So, we are constantly developing new routes through unexplored Moscow. We really want to show our favorite city from different sides; I want the participants of the walks to fall in love with Moscow just like us. And such excursions are usually in great demand.

— Can you tell us more about such routes?

- Was interesting story during the celebration of the anniversary of Nikolai Vasilyevich Gogol. We were approached with a request 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, of which Gogol was a parishioner, but something else unusual. This is a challenge in a sense, I really love such things. It was necessary to do a walking tour and tell a lot, a lot about Gogol. As a result, with great interest for myself, I discovered more than 20 places associated with Nikolai Vasilyevich on Arbat. Not in Moscow as a whole, but only on 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 take her to these places. But when the request finally 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 a walking tour of Art Nouveau. Routes may appear after you have read an interesting book. Now there are a lot of memoirs coming out, all sorts of works by pre-revolutionary Moscow scholars, which we did not know before. You read - and suddenly you see the area completely different, not the way you imagined it, and you get the idea to take a tour of this place and show Moscow from some, perhaps unexpected side.







- How does this happen? How is the excursion prepared?

— First, the search for material begins: reading specialized literature, diaries, going to libraries and, of course, studying the very area you are going to talk about. Sometimes, when you walk the streets, enter alleys, courtyards, you discover absolutely incredible treasures that people have never seen. For example, Nikitsky Boulevard is such a front street. But one time, when I was preparing a tour there, I saw a metal gate with a door, behind which it was written that there was a shoe repair shop or some kind of hardware there. In general, the door is completely unpresentable-looking. But when I entered this gateway, I realized that this the whole city with labyrinths. Who would have thought that this could happen? People are always very interested in this. It’s as if you are immersed in the past, and you can imagine how you would feel if you lived in this house and your windows looked out onto this courtyard….

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

- Because it's hiking, then it runs between Ostozhenka, Prechistenka and in the side streets. This is both Isakov Kekushevsky’s apartment building and the architect Kekushev’s own house. This is the apartment 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; this style is mainly widespread 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 in this.

— 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 release. But it’s important not to just giggle about something, but to have it tied to the topic. And by the way, on excursions sometimes the participants themselves help to find such relaxing moments. I once had a wonderful girl about seven years old on a tour of Arbat and Arbat lanes. On Arbat, every building has a story, and you want to tell about everything. I started talking about the house with knights opposite Tetra Vakhtangov and said that, unfortunately, not all the knights had survived, and this girl told me: “But I can tell where this knight went.” I ask: where? She says: “The fact is that he fell in love with this princess,” and there is a “Princess Turandot” fountain 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 so lovely! Now I always tell this, such a vivid perception by a child of Moscow and its history.

— How long does it take to prepare the excursion?

- 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 interests you. There are topics that require serious preparation, maybe even requests, meetings with some people who have information on a particular area. The residents themselves tell interesting things. It's always a lot of work.

Selecting material is one of the most exciting moments, and here it is important to control yourself. You search, read, and it’s 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 name slipped through, and why not clarify... This 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’s always a shame to remove some information.

Then comes another very important point: you must connect all the objects... It is clear that if the excursion 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 dissimilar buildings, absolutely different stories, but you have to somehow connect them with each other, you have to get a story.

I had a wonderful excursion, 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 in 50 minutes she would leave quietly in English. And I’m leading a tour and I understand that 50 minutes have already passed, an hour has passed, and the woman is still with us. And I tell her: “Please excuse me, but it seems you need to pick up your child from kindergarten.” She says: “You understand, I can’t leave. You finish telling the story and the next thing is so catchy that we will now see further that I just can’t leave.” This was the right excursion, since it happened like this.

There are also purely technical, special aspects that also need to be taken into account: how to stand correctly so that everyone can hear you, so that you can react to the expression of your face, eyes, so that you can see tourists and at the same time do not interfere with their vision of objects; how to stand to show the object as much as possible; how to stand up so that you can talk about several objects without leaving your place. When you prepare an excursion, it takes extra time. For example, I’m walking down the street and, to the surprise of passers-by, I begin to run from one place to another, cross the street, come back, in order to understand where it’s better for me to put the group. And here you need to show your 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 side, so as not to return to this crossing through another crossing, to somehow go further along the route, because people are not interested in the same thing place to go back and forth. In general, this is actually a very 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 disadvantages turn into advantages. Of course, this is a job that requires a lot of physical activity, because you need to move a lot both in the preparation process and during the excursion. And they sometimes last two or three hours, and sometimes six or seven.

The weather is not of our choosing, and our Moscow weather is not pleasant, let’s say, for most of the year. Next is that you are always working, because you must be on 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 people are different, and you make a lot of effort to keep attention. When this works out, I feel a tremendous moral uplift because I give my energy to people, and they give theirs in return. After an excursion I always feel emotionally charged. Everything is interconnected here, and if you like it, then you enjoy it more.

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

 

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