Arctic tourism development trends in the Russian Federation
E.A. SHLAPEKO, V.V. KARGINOVA-GUBINOVA
Institute of Economics - separate division of the Federal Research Center “Karelian Research Center of the Russian Academy of Sciences”, Petrozavodsk, Russia
Keywords: Russian Arctic, Arctic zone, Arctic territories, tourism market, tourism potential, tourism development risks
Abstract
The study demonstrates that the flow of tourists to the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation has been growing in recent years. The potential positive role of tourism in the socio-economic development of the Arctic, with its particular importance for ensuring the territorial integrity and security of the country, has been confirmed. Accordingly, the article substantiates the relevance of studying the process of development of Arctic tourism and the problems associated with it, specifically, of analyzing existing trends and identifying prospects for the development of Arctic tourism based on expert assessments of operators of the tourism services market in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, obtained during a series of interviews. These expert assessments were compared with the position of federal authorities, as reflected in regulatory documents. Data from the Federal State Statistics Service and the Unified Federal Register of Tour Operators, analyzed using applied statistics methods, were also used. It is shown that Arctic tourism is considered in regulatory documents as a tool for strengthening the sustainability of the Arctic, and its identification as a special type of tourism is based both on the commonality of its objectives and the potential to replicate successful practices. The following was revealed: for tour operators, their activities are not simply a source of income but also a vital mission, stemming from the desire to show their small homeland to a wide range of people. It has been confirmed that tour operators primarily discuss what is needed to improve the sustainability of tourism itself. It has been established that there is a significant divergence in tourism development trends, its prospects and the factors determining this for different regions of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The main trends in the Arctic tourism development have been identified, including a decrease in the share of foreign citizens and changes in the quality of infrastructure. A number of recommendations are made for federal authorities on the Arctic tourism development.
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