Abstract
This article discusses the issue of organizing practical classes in higher tourism education. The authors present professional experience in the formation of practical and independent studies of students for practice-oriented disciplines on the example of "Guided tours". In the course of the research, the target features of the organization of practical classes in the discipline "Guided tours" were identified, priority learning outcomes were determined, and examples of the organization of extracurricular activities in urban and suburban tourist environments were presented. Currently, a practice-oriented approach to the organization of classes in tourism education is necessary and requires close study and detailed development, where the main goal is to acquire, form and develop the student's professional competencies, as well as the possibility of their application in a specially organized environment.