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Over the past year, the number of tourists in the Arctic has significantly increased. Despite tough ice conditions in the Barents Sea near the Franz Josef Land Archipelago and Novaya Zemlya, a flow of people wishing to visit this region with severe weather is growing steadily. This summer, 1,306 tourists visited the Russian Arctic National Park. Visitors arrive here by cruise ships and yachts.
According to the director of the national park, Alexander Kirilov, in 2019 for the first time over the ten years of the park's existence, 262 citizens of this country visited the conservation area. The number of visits to the park has markedly increased. This year, cruise ships and yachts visited the Russian Arctic 17 times, he said.
Traditionally tourists from China, the USA and Germany maintain keen interest in the Arctic. In third place in terms of the number of visits are Australia, Switzerland and the UK. In total, in 2019, the national park was visited by citizens from 44 countries including Liechtenstein, Israel, Norway and India.
The tourist season 2019 in the Russian Arctic National Park was eventful. Thus, on August 30, the northernmost visit center in Russia was opened on Hooker Island, Franz Josef Land Archipelago. This event commemorated the 90th anniversary of the Soviet polar station, Tikhaya Bay. The reprint of the Blue Book, the chronicles of the polar station, a gift from the Arctic Museum and Exhibition Center, was also brought there. Moreover, this year a Russian citizen with reduced mobility was also able to visit the national park — Dmitry Alexandrov from Petersburg became the first tourist in a wheelchair to visit the park, take part in landings on the islands of the Franz Josef Land Archipelago, thereby proving that the Arctic is closer than it seems.
The summer of 2019 has become rich in polar bears encounters. In total, scientists recorded more than 60 encounters with 87 animals. Tourists were able to observe a polar bear even at the North Pole. Last time a bear was seen there was eight years ago. In 2019, the Russian Arctic National Park, which is the largest Arctic conservation area in the world, marked its 10th anniversary.
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