Current approaches to the formation of museum audience in the context of cultural tourism

Abstract

The article raises the question of the measures required for the development of domestic tourism in our country. The actual development of the industry in the current situation requires decisive action from the government. There are long proven economic levers used by Western countries that derive income from tourism at levels comparable to oil revenues. Сultural tourism has an outstanding potential in our country, being integrated both in the economic sphere and in the sphere of culture. Therefore, in order to get the ball rolling, it requires not only the efforts of the state, but the initiative on the part of private businesses and by cultural institutions. Increasing the audience of cultural tourism meets the strategic interests of cultural institutions: museums, theaters, cultural centers and others. Reflecting on how to generate a tourist audience, the author points to two types of tourists: passive and motivated. The second type itself is the source of its own reproduction. This type does not arise from «nowhere». The author draws a clear pattern by comparing an avid tourist with a theater-goer or an avid reader: the theater-goer is the one who in his childhood has acquired personal experience with the theater; the reader is the one who in his childhood has acquired personal experience with the book. Therefore, the question arises about the engendering future tourists as researchers, tourist-pathfinders. In this regard, the author examines the phenomenon of the tourist and local lore movement, which had great popularity among children and young people in the 1970s and 80s. The revival of this movement could have huge benefi ts for the country, especially in terms of the formation of its human capital, because in the process of learning its regional human and civic values are being formed. This could bring considerable benefit in terms of the prosperity of our cultural institutions. Citing examples from practice, the author concludes that the basis for the revival of tourism and local lore movement should be cooperation between schools and cultural institutions.