It was Pushkin, a famous Russian writer and poet, who said that love to traveling is a voluntary cross that only few people bear. He was right - terrible roads and too careless national travel service made the trips around Russia a torture. Russians with much more pleasure went to Europe: Paris, Vienna, Naples and Baden-Baden. It was until the Revolution came... All the voyages abroad were strictly limited in Soviet Union - it was like manna from heaven to visit Hungary or sunny Bulgaria...
That's why, as soon as our citizens got their freedom to go anywhere, there began a real traveling boom. Only a lazy one didn't open a traveling agency that time, therefore, the quality of service left much to be desired. Numerous client complaints of cheating and fraud seriously undermined the faith to "vacation sellers". But the situation is changing. Today everybody appreciates professionalism, and to be compatible in the market, the agencies need to have a staff of real experts. So, where do they get the "pros" for Russian travel industry?
According to the information given in one of the Moscow Universities that train young specialists in tourist and hotel business, the students study all kinds of subjects: International Art and Culture, Religion, Geography, Psychology, Conflictology, Sociology, Mathematics, Internet-Technologies, Law, Management and Marketing, Human Resources Management, Public Relations, Hotel Business... Besides, the students have to know, at least, two European languages to be able to have free communication with future clients. Even being students, they work on probation in Russian and foreign companies, starting from the lowest levels and gradually reaching the highest ones. Students spend there vacations in France, Germany, Finland, Sweden, Greece, Chech Republic, Turkey, Egypt, Malta, etc...
After graduation young professionals will set up their own business. Work in travel service industry is very interesting; profits are stable and pretty high. Education lasts only 4-5 years, and if it's the second field of study - only 2-2,5 years. Being a brand new profession, it's taught only in few Universities, the main part of which is on commercial basis. It's not a secret that right now in Russia, even in Moscow, there are very few hotels of "star-level". But soon, as it is promised, the situation will change. That's when the tourists will start coming to Russia in crowds, and the need in qualified specialists will increase. We'll see. About 6,5 million Russian went to spend their vacation abroad in 2004. There are about 20,000 of travel agencies in the country. In Moscow there are more than 7,000 of them. By the year 2010, the tourist turnover in the world will grow, according to experts, to $2,5 trillions. Russian part in it will make up about $600 billion. As widely expected, Russia will take the second prize in tourist industry investments.