Tourist and excursion activities in the Nizhny Novgorod Region in 1918-1941.

The subject of the study is a unique stage in the development of domestic tourism – the first decades of Soviet power. Tourist and excursion activities in 1918–1941 became a new form of leisure organization for Soviet citizens. But, if until the mid-1920s there were no clear ideas about the tasks of tourist and excursion activities, then with the beginning of industrialization and collectivization, there is a clear understanding of the need to subordinate tourism and excursions to specific tasks of socialist construction. In the article, the authors address the topic of the development of tourist and excursion work in the Nizhny Novgorod region. Since the activities of regional tourist and excursion organizations can be studied only by working with the funds of local archives, the authors, based on documents from the Central Archive of the Nizhny Novgorod Region and the State Socio-Political Archive of the Nizhny Novgorod region, show the process of formation and development of this field of activity in the region. The methodology of the work is based on the principles of historicism and objectivity, as well as a systematic approach that allows a comprehensive examination of the subject under study. The conducted research showed that the period of the revolution and the civil war caused serious damage to the sphere of tourist and excursion activities. Most of the hotel companies were out of circulation, the rest needed urgent repairs and inventory updates. Another problem was the acute shortage of professionally trained personnel, since previous workers either emigrated abroad during the civil war, or died, or were not suitable for ideological reasons. There were also difficulties with the selection of senior staff. This led to the fact that the quality of tourist and excursion services provided at that time did not match the stated price. There were complaints not only from Soviet citizens, but also from foreign tourists, which negatively affected the country's international prestige. In order to improve the situation, new hotels are being built, so in Gorky in the 1930s three hotels were built: Volna, Intourist and Rossiya. Courses are organized for the training of guides and interpreters. New tourist routes are being developed.