The Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions as well as the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area welcomed the most tourists in the Russian Arctic in 2019.
"The flow of tourists in the Russian Arctic is distributed unevenly. Some areas lead with high tourist numbers, and others don't, with low figures. In 2019, the Murmansk Region received the most tourists — 451,000, the Arkhangelsk Region came in second with 206,000, and the Yamal-Nenets Autonomous Area placed third with 180,000," said Leonid Agafonov, EastRussia managing director and a member of the public council at the Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, during an online news conference.
He also added that last year Karelia received 170,000 tourists, the Republic of Komi- 80,000, the Krasnoyarsk Territory — 33,000, Chukotka — 25,000, the Nenets Autonomous Area — 22,000 and Yakutia — 5,000.
"There has been very serious growth over the recent two years. Travel companies' receipts have increased by 30 percent in the Murmansk Region, and hotels in the Arkhangelsk Region earned 62 percent more. Over 60 new places of accommodation opened in the Murmansk Region in the past two years," added Agafonov.
According to Agafonov, the Russian Arctic has 539 hotels and 126 tour operators.