The phenomenon of tourism lies in the fact that, along with the economic role, it consolidates all the most important cultural and socio-transformational processes and influences the spiritual, moral and cultural and educational state of society. Negative trends in the tourism sector have a destroying effect not only on the economic, but also on the socio-cultural development. Socially oriented tourism as a modern economic phenomenon, which has certain properties and characteristics, has a functional and targeted orientation to provide all categories of the population with the opportunity to relax and restore labor resources. The purpose of the study is to develop mechanisms for coordinating and implementing state policy in relation to the socially oriented tourism sector. As a result of the study, factors are identified that determine the importance of the state social policy of supporting socially oriented tourism, which ensures the interaction of all subjects and objects of tourism, as well as the relationship between them in the process of production and consumption of a social tourism product. Taking into account the subject-target approach of socially oriented tourism, the subjects of recreational and tourist activities are identified and the types of tourism are ranked, depending on their subjective social significance for consumers. The formation of the state social policy to support socially oriented tourism is aimed at providing regulatory and legal support for the functioning of the tourism industry with direct or indirect state support to ensure the effective distribution of production forces and financial opportunities. The result of the study is the formation of an institutional model of the state social policy for supporting the socially oriented tourism sector, which will contribute to ensuring sustainable spatial development of the regions of the Russian Federation, the formation of competitive regional tourism products in the domestic and international tourism markets, and the preservation and development of the country's human potential.