PROJECTION OF PLACE IN DIGITAL REPRESENTATIONS OFTOURIST EXPERIENCE (BASED ON VIRTUAL TOURS OFTHEARKAIM MUSEUM-RESERVE)

The article deals with the application of digital technologies in tourism; it analyzes the initiatives on digitalization of the tourism sphere in Russia: e-tourism or online tourism, smart tourism, digital tourism and others. Special attention is paid to the technological possibilities of tourist route presentation based on the use of virtual tours and virtual excursions. Virtual tourism is considered in the article as a projection of a place (tourist object), the construction of which takes place through technically mediated representation of tourist experience. The digital projection of place, according to the authors, appears as a virtual referent of the place of the event, which, despite its secondary relation to reality (representation of the object), can form the primary impressions of the audience. Virtual tourism is not associated with active-action formats and the need to change the geolocation of the tourist, but it is associated in the consumer’s mind as an opportunity to expand the tourist experience. Based on the analysis of the effectiveness of the virtual tour developed by the Arkaim Museum-Reserve, the advantages and limitations of the functioning of digital products as a projection of tourist places are summarized. The options for the tourist experience that the virtual tourist receives are summarized.