New discipline "Technology of using legends in tourism" in the curriculum for bachelor’s training in tourism

Modern cross-disciplinary socio-cultural research is conducted on the base of cultural and image geography and tourism study. The modern tourists' perception of spatial images is the core of this research. These images can be fixed by means of a questionnaire and then represented graphically in the form of image-maps. The proposed concept has theoretical and practical character, as the most frequently recurring images and their constructions ("metasystems") can be used in the tourism and excursion activities and in tourism development in the regional context as a whole. Image and geographical themes in cultural geography and socio-cultural research are promising direction within tourism study. Since 2013, in the Perm State Institute of Culture the new discipline "Technology of using legends in tourism" was introduced in the block of variability disciplines of working curriculum for Bachelor’s training in tourism. Studying this discipline students get acquainted with the provisions of the current humanitarian, cultural and image geography, learn basic aspects of today's rapidly changing tourist motives in terms of cognitive images, acquire practical skills of using legends in tourism of any tourist territory. The proposed academic discipline is based on the concept that the tourism legend and myth can become a real tourism resource of the territory, which in today's consumer demand in tourism will play a significant role.