Esoteric tourism at archaeological sites: why didn't Savin become Arkaim?

The article is devoted to the problem of popularization of "esoteric tourism", as well as the use of archaeological sites for the development of domestic tourism in Russian regions on the example of the Kurgan region. In this work, we do not aim to study rituals and spiritual practices, as well as the directions of new religious movements. Therefore, we will use the term "esotericists" in relation to a wide range of people who consider themselves to belong to various communities: from astrologers and palmists, to neo-pagans and sorcerers. Here we also include "urban inhabitants" who admit the existence of supernatural forces, but in ordinary life do not practice any esoteric teaching. The main purpose and objective of the study is reflected in the title of the work: to find out why Savin cannot compete with Arkaim in terms of popularity among esotericists? During the preparation of this study, we carried out an expedition visit to the sites "Eneolithic Sanctuary "Savin-1" and "Arkaim Reserve" on the day of the summer solstice. With the help of automated information collection tools, data is collected from open sources on the Vkontakte social network. The material was structured and analyzed using quantitative and qualitative approaches. The combined use of digital ethnography methods with classical ethnographic methods has made it possible to collect and analyze a wider range of sources. As part of the study, for the first time, an analysis of user groups and accounts considering Savin as a "place of power" was carried out, their approximate gender and age composition and region of residence were established. However, the statistical description of these groups is not the main purpose of our study. Therefore, our discourse analysis of the texts allowed us to delve deeper into the topic under study and identify the main reasons why the archaeological monument "Eneolithic sanctuary "Savin-1" could not gain the same popularity among tourists as Arkaim has. The author concludes that with modest financial investments in the development of tourist infrastructure, only esotericists can ensure a constant flow of people to the facility. Such an example is Arkaim.

archaeological site, esotericism, esoteric tourism, place of power, pilgrimage, social networks, digital ethnography, Savin, Arkaim, domestic tourism