FORMATION OF A PILGRIMAGE AND TOURIST CLUSTER "SARANSK-TEMNIKOV-SANAKSAR"
Tourism clusters currently play a very significant role in the development of tourism. They use the advantages of cooperation in the field of tourism of enterprises and organizations that are part of the cluster. The use of the cluster approach makes it possible to combine the work of regional and municipal authorities, business, public and other organizations to create a competitive tourist product based on maximizing the tourist potential of the territory, attracting investment and increasing tourist attractiveness. The interaction and synergy resulting from their joint actions create competitive advantages over the isolated actions of individual companies. All this explains the wide interest in the formation of tourist clusters. The purpose of the article is to consider the features of the formation of the pilgrimage and tourist cluster “Saransk - Temnikov - Sanaksar”, the subject of the study is the pilgrimage and tourist cluster, its route organization, the main participants. The cluster is being created for the purpose of socio-economic development of the Temnikovsky municipal district, which is in a depressed state, by increasing the tourist flow due to increasing the efficiency of the enterprises and organizations included in the tourist cluster. Its geographical feature is an advantageous geographical location in an ecologically clean part of the Republic of Mordovia. The characteristics of the social significance of cluster design in terms of restoration and preservation of historical, cultural and natural heritage, spiritual, moral, patriotic education and environmental education of the population are given.