Tourism

TOURISM. In the USSR, the tourist movement is a mass voluntary public movement. It is united in the form of the voluntary 'Society of Proletarian Tourism and Excursions' - OPTe, which relies in its work on a network of primary cells in enterprises, institutions, and educational institutions. The tasks of OPTe are closely connected with the tasks of our socialist construction and defense of the country. Tourism is used as a means of studying our country, its wealth, its achievements. The exchange of production experience that occurs during tourism plays no small role in raising the cultural and technical level of workers and collective farm workers. Research work occupies a very prominent place in voluntary tourism, particularly in the search for new raw material bases. The tourist active is widely used in resort work for the exploration and research of new balneological sources and the like. Great tasks face tourism in the preparation for the defense of our country. These tasks include training and hardening of the body, preparing it for a marching life, mastering the technique of various types of active movement. Tourism is the best form of active rest both during the vacation period and on weekends. Due to its emotional nature, changing impressions, it perfectly tones the body, increasing metabolic functions. Active types of tourism are a very valuable means of combating nervous fatigue. In addition, tourism is an excellent means of physical development, health improvement, and hardening, which is proven by numerous studies. Foreign materials on the study of the effect of tourism on the body mainly address the question of the effect of high-altitude ascents. High-altitude ascents appear in the works of Fick, Wislicenus, Weissbein (Wislicenus, S. Weissbein) as proof that during intense muscular work, mainly carbohydrates and fats are expended, not protein substances. A large number of researchers studied changes in the metabolic functions of the body under the influence of high-altitude ascents. It should be noted the works of Tsunts, Levi, as well as research conducted during the ascent of Everest and the Andes (Barcroft, Haldane, Henderson, Schmieder). In these works, researchers were interested in the question of the effect on the body of intense muscular work in conditions of high-altitude climate (see Mountain sickness, Mountain-climatic stations). In all these works, researchers based their observations on very limited groups of tourists, in most cases well-equipped and mastering high-altitude technique perfectly. High-altitude tourism in the USSR in recent years has received very wide distribution, attracting a relatively unprepared tourist mass. Over three years, the tourism office of the TsIK (State Central Institute of Balneology) conducted work on studying the effect on the body of the ascent of Elbrus. During this, in-depth biochemical studies were conducted on small groups (prof. Krestovnikov's research in 1931 and Dr. Gazenkov's in 1932, 1933). At present, in mass dynamic studies aimed at assessing the effect of tourist load, biological indicators are used: dynamic functional tests with determination of pulse, respiration, and blood pressure, and determination of changes in the white blood formula, supplementing these data with materials of medical examinations, observations of tourists' behavioral reactions, questioning, and data from self-control conducted by the tourists themselves. In connection with the development of the tourist movement, the question of its medical service is very important. The doctor's work in tourism consists of several sections: 1) examination of tourists with the aim of giving recommendations when choosing one route or another; 2) conducting medical and advisory work with tourists both when registering them for routes and along their way, mainly at base camps; these consultations concern both questions of the route regimen, norms of movement depending on the state of health, preparedness of the tourist and the nature of the chosen route, and questions of nutrition, equipment, clothing, footwear, etc.; 3) implementation of sanitary-hygienic supervision by the doctor at the tourist base, establishing the correct daily routine there, providing first aid. The conduct of all the indicated work requires the doctor to be familiar with questions of tourism and special preparation for this work. When constructing a route, the correct distribution of periods of work and rest in it is also of great importance. When coordinating the duration of the route with the length of vacation, it is necessary to allocate time for rest along the way, for rest days. The rest time should be at least ¹/₄ of the entire duration of the journey. For less prepared and weakened persons, this time should be relatively increased. Rest days (days of rest) should be properly distributed throughout the entire journey, so that at the end of the journey the tourist would arrive rested, in a cheerful and capable state. Routes according to their difficulty are divided into 3 categories depending on the requirements for health and preparedness of the tourist when choosing one category or another of routes. 1st category routes - journeys with great physical load: a) pedestrian, prolonged and at the same time difficult on individual stages; pedestrian, short-term but difficult in their load (high passes, peaks, etc.); b) military-style hikes; c) those types of tourism that require special preparation, namely: high-altitude - pedestrian or ski, prolonged ski, bicycle, rowing, rowing-sailing (for sea and long journeys on large lakes) and movement on horseback. Requirements for participants in this type of tourism: no deviations in health status, sufficient physical development, physical culture and special tourist preparation for this type (at least 2-3 years of tourist work). For journeys associated with great difficulties and risks, special verification of technical knowledge and endurance is necessary. The age for admission to this category of routes is not younger than 18-20 years, depending on physical development. Older ages have no special restrictions in tourism if there is health and sufficient tourist experience. For women, especially long and gradual training is required. Duration, norms of movement and loads in pedestrian movement for this category: the total daily pedestrian transition through moderately hilly terrain should not exceed 25-30 km per day, with a movement speed of 4 to 5 km per hour. In mountainous terrain, the norms of transitions and movement speed are reduced depending on the terrain, altitude of the area and difficulty of the path itself. The load norm for men is 10-12 kg, for women 6-8 kg. 2nd category routes - journeys with medium physical load, mainly pedestrian, but with relatively long duration of movement (150-200 km). Participation may be allowed to: a) persons without defects in health status, with good physical development, even without sufficient tourist preparation; b) persons with some not sharply expressed deviations in health, such as neurasthenia, disturbed metabolism, TB without nutritional failure, heart neuroses, etc., with good physical development, with long physical culture training and tourist experience of at least 2 years (age for participation - 18 years, but may be reduced to 16 years with full health, good development and preparation). The total daily pedestrian transition through moderately rugged terrain should not exceed 20-25 km per day. Movement speed - 4 km per hour for 5-6 hours per day. In mountainous terrain, load norms for men are 8-10 kg, for women 4-6 kg. 3rd category routes - journeys with light load, with mixed method of movement, with pedestrian movement not more than 45-80 km for the entire journey. A radial form of route construction is preferable. It is permissible for healthy but physically weak persons, and for persons with some defects in health status, such as significant neurasthenia, anemia, disturbed metabolism, more significant than for the second group (obesity, gout), heart disease without severe functional disorders, lung diseases, chronic gastrointestinal diseases of nervous origin, etc. Due to large differences in health status of persons in this group, the choice, construction and conditions of journeys should vary considerably. This category of routes is also permissible for teenagers with full health. General duration, load norms and movement: time for movement for this group should not exceed '/2 of the vacation period. The number of rest days in the journey should be increased. Approximately after 2 days of travel, 1-2 days of rest. Daily transitions should not exceed 15 km, speed per hour - 3-4 km with a total duration of 3-4 hours of walking per day. Load norms for this group should be maximally reduced, not exceeding 3 kg when walking on flat terrain and no load in mountainous terrain.

As a result of practical work and study of the flow of tourists along different routes, it becomes clear that the indications for Tourism can be significantly expanded provided proper organization of tourist trips and the development of simplified forms of its conduct. Recently, the idea has been put forward of the need to use Tourism in connection with its tonic effect on the body after resort and sanatorium treatment, which primarily applies to nervous functional diseases. In view of the beneficial effect of Tourism in high-altitude areas on patients with functional neuroses, the question arises of the possibility of creating sanitary camps in these areas, which could partially replace sanatorium and resort treatment for this category of patients. The creation of such camps is fully justified in relation to persons in a pre-pathological state due to severe nervous exhaustion. Tourist work with sick and weakened individuals requires the establishment of experimental research work to substantiate it and develop regimes and norms of load.

Equipment, clothing, and footwear of the tourist depend on the type and form of tourist trips, as well as on the regions in which they are made. When traveling in sparsely populated areas, the presence of tents and sleeping bags among the equipment is required. For carrying loads on the back, a backpack of one or another capacity is necessary. For high-altitude Tourism, special equipment in the form of ropes, ice axes, crampons, etc., is necessary. Footwear is of particular importance for the tourist, which must be distinguished by strength and convenience. For mountain Tourism, special mountain boots with thick soles, fitted with special nails or trekkers, are necessary. The leather must be impervious to moisture, for which it undergoes special treatment, and the boots must be systematically lubricated with a special ointment. It is very important that the footwear be sufficiently loose in order to be able to wear several pairs of warm socks, which is necessary when staying in glacier and snow areas. The tourist's clothing must be durable and at the same time lightweight. It varies depending on the climate and conditions of the route. To prevent burns to the retina of the eye, which cause temporary blindness, it is necessary when traveling in mountain areas with large snow spaces to wear special smoked glasses. The caloric content of the tourist's food will depend on the amount of work performed. From this point of view, the caloric content of food should be especially high for Tourism with an active method of movement, especially for high-altitude skiing. In addition, the food of high-altitude dwellers should be highly concentrated to avoid overburdening the stomach during heavy work. The concentration of food products is also important from the point of view of their relatively lower weight. The production of such concentrated products for tourists is of great importance. Such products include pea sausage, meat powder, oat cakes, chocolate, condensed milk, etc. The drinking regime during Tourism is also of great importance. It is recommended to reduce the amount of liquid intake during long and difficult transitions to avoid overloading the heart. Just as in relation to military campaigns, it is desirable to add table salt to the food in order to limit fluid loss through sweating. The salt regime during transitions in a hot climate is justified from a physiological point of view. In 1932, the presidium of the Central Council of the Society for Proletarian Tourism (OPTE) approved the mandatory nature of medical examinations for admission to tourist trips. In view of the need for scientific investigation of Tourism issues from the point of view of public health, the People's Commissariat of Health in 1930 instructed the All-Russian Central Executive Committee (VTsIK) to organize a Tourism office as part of the sector of Workers' Tourism and Excursions.