Positioning of the Republic of Mordovia as a tourist destination

The stability of the tourist flow depends to a great extent on the level of tourist awareness of the peculiarities of a particular tourist destination, and this level is determined by a combination of ways and methods to promote a destination. The positioning of the tourist destination acts as one of the elements of its promotion. Tourist destination as an object of promotion is significantly different from the promotion of goods and services, which leads to the need for a special approach to the formation of a promotion strategy. At the same time, the positioning of a tourist destination is determined by its specific features, which are caused by natural, cultural, historical, and socioeconomic tourism resources. The purpose of the article is to show the main elements of the tourist positioning of the Republic of Mordovia. The object of research is the Republic of Mordovia, and the subject of research is the elements of its tourist positioning. These elements include the presence of a unique heritage of Mordovian national culture, the presence of objects associated with the name of Admiral F. F. Ushakov, religious (orthodox) tourism objects, regular events, national cuisine, high quality local food, the presence of folk traditions, arts and crafts, the status of Saransk as the host city of the 2018 World Cup. The positioning of Mordovia will be promoted by a number of factors enhancing its attractiveness: a favorable geographical position, a wide choice of accommodation facilities, high standards of hotel services, highquality sports and transport infrastructure, etc. The experience of preparing and holding the 2018 World Cup in Saransk showed that a sharp increase in inbound tourism in the republic became possible only as a result of the systematic and constant awareness of the residents of Russia and foreign countries about the tourism potential of city and the Republic of Mordovia.