Tourist Center
The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.
Tourist Center
in the USSR, a station that organizes services for tourists and excursionists—namely, accommodations, meals, and social amenities—and that carries out the provisions set forth in the plans for tour itineraries. Tourist center branch offices, as well as shelters, cabins, and other facilities, are set up along tourist routes. Tourist centers provide information and advice about trips and excursions and publicize organized tours. In 1975 there were close to 1,000 tourist centers in operation, including approximately 600 (with a more than 200,000-place capacity) operated by the trade unions. The greatest concentrations of tourist centers are in the most popular tourist areas, such as the Caucasus, the Crimea, and the Carpathians.
The Great Soviet Encyclopedia, 3rd Edition (1970-1979). © 2010 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.