Training system for tourism personnel in Karelia of the 1980s

Recently, the examination of the history of Soviet tourism has gained more significance and relevance due to the necessity of involving young people and providing tourism with qualified professionals. During the Soviet era, all republics within the Soviet Union had an ongoing program for training public personnel in amateur tourism, such as hiking leaders, tourism instructors, and sports referees. This article presents, for the first time, an analysis of the documents from the Karelian Regional Council on Tourism and Excursions, with the objective of studying the training system for tourism personnel in Karelia between 1981 and 1986. The research materials used in this study comprise administrative documentation and organizational records obtained from the local tourism management authority, as well as oral history materials personally collected by the author. The study demonstrates that the public activity of tourist clubs played a crucial role in the development of amateur tourism, and the management of state-sponsored tourism was a unique system of collaboration between the government and the public, which significantly contributed to the overall development of amateur tourism.