Arctic tourism in the Barents Sea Region: current status and boundaries of the possible

Abstract

Russia faces a promising task of integrated use of various resources of the Arctic, including tourism and recreation. In order to provide a sustainable socio-economic development of the polar regions and the country as a whole, it is necessary to conduct interdisciplinary studies of the resources and assimilation capacity of geographical systems based on methods used in socio-economic and physical geography, as well as in cultural geography. In the article the present conditions and trends in the tourism development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation (AZRF) are considered as well as the features of its organization in the Barents Sea Region. The existing problems and prospects of the tourism development in the Arctic under modern conditions are discussed on the example of actively increasing cruise tourism in the region. Moreover, the factors limiting the development of Arctic tourism in the Russian Federation are considered. Conclusions based on comprehensive analysis of current opportunities and constraints in the Barents Sea region are drawn about the need for reconstruction and development of maritime transport and navigation infrastructure throughout the planned ship corridor along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and the resumption of the ports of Dudinka, Dikson, Tiksi, Pevek and Provideniya. Further progress of mass ecological and cruise tourism in the Barents Sea basin requires scientific rationing of visits to protected areas and the organization of environmental events in places of excursions.

Disaster risk perceptions and multinational cooperation in Barentsburg, Svalbard

“…About 1/5 of the mined coal remains in Barentsburg to fuel its power station and the rest is exported to Western Europe at low market prices. Following the successful Norwegian example in Longyearbyen, and taking into account the limited time of the mine's operations, Arktikugol has recently begun to rebrand Barentsburg from a mining settlement to a research centre and a tourist destination (Gerlach & Kinossian, 2016;Kelman, Sydnes, Duda, Nikitina, & Webersik, 2020;Pedersen, 2021;Roberts & Paglia, 2016;Schennerlein, 2021;Sevastyanov et al, 2021) 2014) placing research as the first priority for Barentsburg's post-mining livelihoods. Tourism as the second priority represents Russia's own version of the so-called "lastchance tourism."…”

“…While recent studies (e.g. Schennerlein, 2021;Sevastyanov, Grigoryev, Paranina, Obyazov, & Kiseleva, 2021;Vlakhov, 2019) offer insight into Barentsburg's socio-economic status, infrastructure and future prospects, little has been investigated on how Svalbard's second-largest and main Russian settlement, Barentsburg, deals with risks and disasters. This lacuna appears within the context of Russia's motivations for the Arctic being the subject of considerable concerns and opportunities within geopolitical deliberations (Bruun & Medby, 2014;Nikitina, 2018;Pedersen, 2021;Wilson Rowe, 2018).…”

Arctic Development in Connection with the Northern Sea Route: A Review of Ecological Risks and Ways to Avoid Them

“…Sevastyanov, D.V. et al [15] discussed the problems and opportunities for the development of tourism in the Arctic. The authors drew conclusions about the need to develop the transport infrastructure of the Northern Sea Route (NSR) and the operation resumption of the Dudinka, Pevek, Tiksi, Dikson, and Provideniya ports.…”