ИСТИНА

The purpose of the paper is to acquire a better understanding of how ethno-tourism cluster can contribute to successful development of tourism destination in emerging market. The main idea of the research is to analyse the case of ethno-tourism in Mari El Republic, Russia. The unique character of the Mari territory in terms of history, culture and ecology can surely attract tourists. Ethno-tourism can become the central concept for the Mari El Republic, based on the preserving the traditional religion of the Mari people, paganism. Still there is a need to boost collaboration and networking of different actors engaged in providing different kinds of tourism services, as well as to develop legal framework aimed at cluster initiatives support. The research presented in the paper will contribute to the literature on cultural and creative industries by showing the specifics of the Russian tourism market. It will provide understanding of the ways to deploy unique Russian cultural heritage with positive impact on the local tourism and the prosperity of local communities.