Educational journey: How young people perceive tourism in Russia

The article is devoted to researching the specifics of how modern youth perceive domestic tourism and analyzing its potential as an effective tool for continuing education and personal development. The authors focus on the transformation of the demands of the younger generation, which increasingly views travel not as passive recreation, but as an active process of acquiring new experiences, knowledge, and skills — a format defined as “learning on the move.”

The methodological basis of the study was a survey of 71 participants in the nationwide program “More Than a Journey” who visited the Yaroslavl Region as part of the “Golden Ring of Russia” tour. The survey identified key motivational factors, consumer preferences, and barriers faced by young people when planning trips. It was found that the decisive factor in choosing a tour is an interesting program (90.1%), and the most popular type of tourism is adventure tourism (40.8%). At the same time, a paradox was identified: although young people highly value domestic tourism for its rich nature, history, and culture, the main barrier remains the lack of financial resources (~75% of responses).

A significant result of the work is the empirical confirmation of the concept of a tourist educational space, in which the territorial component is complemented by value-semantic and reflective components. The authors prove that educational travel serves as a “sociocultural laboratory,” contributing to the formation of civic identity, the development of soft skills, and the “mobile competence” necessary for living in conditions of uncertainty.