PROSPECTS FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF ARCTIC CRUISE TOURISM IN THE WESTERN SECTOR OF THE RUSSIAN ARCTIC

Arctic cruise tourism is becoming more and more popular every year. With the development of tourism infrastructure, icebreaker fleet and other delivery means, the number of tourists visiting the Arctic from all over the world is growing. Arctic tourism includes not only cruises directly to the North Pole, but also cruises to the Arctic Archipelagos of Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya and voyages along the Northern Sea Route.

The rich experience in the development of educational tourism in a number of northern countries (USA, Canada, Sweden, Denmark) is important in the formation of this industry in Russia. Being, in fact, at the stage of development recovery, Arctic tourism in Russia may avoid their mistakes causing environment degradation. The system of specially protected natural territories of Russia plays an essential role in the sustainable development of the Arctic; the system is the guarantor of biodiversity conservation and promotes the development of educational tourism. In this regard, the constant search for compromise solutions is one of the most important tasks of nature reserves and national parks. Being one of the largest specially protected natural areas in the world, the National Park “Russian Arctic” is developing a regulated system for visiting the western sector of the Russian Arctic: hiking trails are being developed and licensed, stopping points and local management plans are being created etc.

The article presents an assessment of the Arctic cruise tourism development in the world and the prospects for increasing attendance in Russia against the background of the preservation of natural, historical and cultural resources of the Russian Arctic. Special attention is paid to prospects for the tourism development in the Arctic Archipelagos Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, which are part of the National Park “Russian Arctic”.

The unique natural conditions of the Arctic Ocean and Arctic island territories, rich historical and cultural potential — all this opens up prospects for the sustainable development of cruise tourism in the Arctic. Its improvement not only expands the scope of recreational activity in the Arctic, but also contributes to the socio-economic development of a number of Arctic regions of Russia, providing an inflow of investment, infrastructure development, creation of employment, expansion of cultural communications, etc.

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