Assessment of tourism development in Arctic entities

The article reflects the main aspects of the development of the tourist industry of the Arctic regions. The characteristics of the tourist environment of each of the eight states forming the Arctic are presented. Dynamics of tourist flows of regions is considered. Trends in the further development of Arctic tourism are reflected. The analysis of statistical data on the subject under study is presented, conclusions on the topic are drawn.


Introduction
Arctic tourism, like any other tourist destination, is formed on the basis of a combination of objectively existing factors of attractiveness for tourists and based on them tourist products aimed at the end-user. The increased interest in the Arctic for centuries can be due to rich deposits of unique minerals, unique natural landscapes, unique diverse animal world, unique natural phenomena and processes. Arctic territories vary considerably in their historical and cultural resources. The tourism and recreational potential of the Arctic regions is an essential element towards the optimization and rationalization of tourism activities and tourism in general. Research by scientists has shown that, owing to a significant multiplier effect, tourism acts as a catalyst for the socio-economic development of the Territories, while contributing to improving the quality of life of the local population. Tourism is a source of income at the local and regional levels, creating additional jobs and preserving the natural and cultural values of the regions. Each Arctic subject has its own unique natural and cultural values that attract the attention of guests. Fans of ski recreation, northern fishing, extreme travel on the thickness of ice with pleasure visit the northern lands and, it should be noted that every year the tourist flow to the northern latitudes increases. These factors are due to the relevance of the study.
The whole territory of the Arctic is formed of several entities. These include the Arctic lands of the Russian Federation, Norway, Iceland, Denmark, Canada and the United States of America.
But not all regions are equally in demand among travelers. The influx of tourists to different Arctic regions is extremely different. Some territories are more popular with guests, some less.
As a working hypothesis of the study, it can be assumed that Norway is the most popular tourist region, which is environmentally friendly, has a large number of ski resorts and attracts guests to famous Norwegian fjords, and the most lagging region is the Arctic lands of the Russian Federation, due to the lack of development of tourist infrastructure, difficult access, expensive tours and the state 's reduced interest in the development of the region in previous decades. Only since the beginning of the 21 century has more attention been paid to the development of the region, and funding for the development of tourism in the Russian Arctic has increased significantly.
The aim of the study is to assess the tourist and recreational potential of the Arctic regions and to identify the most and least popular subjects.
For achievement of the goal the following objectives have been established and achieved: -to study the current state of tourist potential of Arctic territories; -to identify the main types of tourism resources of each region; -to assess the tourist flows of Arctic subjects and the dynamics of their development; -to prepare conclusions.
The object of the study is the tourist and recreational potential of Arctic subjects. The subject of the study is territorial differences in tourist and recreational potential in the Arctic, which determine the main directions of tourism development.
Comparative, descriptive and statistical methods of research, as well as the method of analysis and hypothesis, were used to solve the set tasks.
The initial information for the study was provided by statistics on the Arctic region, Internet sources on natural and cultural and historical resources, infrastructure of the Arctic territory, publications of domestic and foreign specialists in the field of recreation.

Assessment of the tourism potential of Arctic entities
The entire territory of the Arctic is formed of eight states. These include Russia, Canada, Greenland (an autonomous unit within Denmark), the United States, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland. Few countries are fortunate to have exclusive sovereignty over Arctic territories. Not so much valuable factors of production are taken into account here, but rather the uniqueness of recreational resources [1]. Not surprisingly, the Arctic Economic Council, along with energy and infrastructure, has set up a working group on tourism as well. Each Arctic power, with the exception of the United States, seeks to create and develop its own unique tourist product. For example, Denmark and Norway are actively using the snow spaces of Greenland and Svalbard, Canada, a fauna of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago with a large number of reserves, as tourist destinations. Consider the tourism and recreational potential of each region in more detail.

Russia
The Russian Arctic, as a direction of tourism, includes the harsh and very picturesque nature of the islands and archipelago of the famous Northern Sea Route, the shortest water route between the European part of Russia and the Far East on the Arctic Ocean.
Russia owns the largest territory of the Arctic, which indicates a great potential for the development of the Arctic tourism industry. Only on the Russian Arctic latitudes can you meet almost all species of northern mammals: polar bears, pesks, Greenland whales, narvals, bales, morges, ring nerps, lahtaks, Greenland seals, about a million wild reindeer and 1,000 varieties of plants.
Small sea cruises are already being held on the Russian territory of the Arctic, guests are boating, ski routes are organized, all those wishing to be offered equipment for hunting and fishing, extreme guests are offered rafting walks. Dog riding is particularly popular.
Ecotourism is a comparatively young promising branch in the tourism industry, but has also earned its popularity at northern latitudes. Thus, in the Archangel region tourists are invited to visit national parks with various unique monuments of nature, which number more than 30 units. The Northern Maritime Museum is also located there.
At present, the business card of Arctic tourism in Russia is a cruise to the North Pole -an exclusive Russian tourist product, one of the best offers in the field of Arctic tourism.
In recent years, the demand for tourism, including Arctic tourism, in the Russian Federation has increased significantly. This direction is gaining popularity in the tourism services market. The demand for travel to cold regions is also growing, but, for example, travel to Lake Baikal is more popular than tours to the Arctic [2,3]. A few years ago, foreign tourists could mainly afford to travel to the Arctic. Over the past few years, the situation has changed fundamentally -Russian travelers have also begun to visit Arctic territories. If we consider the flow of tourists to the Russian Arctic on the example of the most popular place of visit-national park "Russian Arctic," the main tourists in 2017 were residents of PRC -their number was 209 out of 1,142 tourists, which is equivalent to 18.30% of the total number of tourists visiting the Arctic. The second largest number of travelers was taken by domestic travelers -their number was 205 people or 17.95% of the total number of arrivals in the Arctic, followed by Swiss -146 people and this is one and a half times more than in 2016 (Table 1) [4]. No less interesting are Arctic trips and citizens of Germany and the USA -97 and 98 who visited the national park "Russian Arctic," respectively. The total growth of tourist traffic to the Russian Arctic in 2017 compared to the previous years was 20 percent. It should be noted that the cost of tours to the Arctic is quite high and can be more than 1 million rubles per ticket. This fact indicates an increase in the popularity of Arctic tourism and an increase in the income of the population as a whole.
The tourist capabilities of the Russian Arctic region are not fully used. If, for example, the Russian Arctic lands are compared to Norway, it should be noted that Norway receives hundreds of times more tourists. For example -in the same period of time the national park "Russian Arctic" visited 1000 tourists, and in Norway visited more than 45 times more tourists. And the main reason for this trend is the problem in the underdevelopment of transport and logistics channels of the Russian Arctic. The low level of quality of services provided to tourists, lack of tourist infrastructure, lack of awareness among the population of the attractive opportunities of the Polar Region affect the cost of travel to the Arctic banks, which makes them inaccessible to the general population.
The development of ecotourism, extreme, event, scientific, cognitive and ethnographic tourism is considered a promising direction of development of the Russian Arctic tourism [4].

Norway
To the south of the Russian latitudes of the Arctic is Norway. The Kingdom of Norway is one of the leaders in the Arctic tourism market. This state owns a relatively smaller Arctic than Russia. Despite this, according to the results of 2017, the Arctic territories of Norway were visited by about 60 thousand tourists, which is several times more than in Russia [5].
This fact certainly testifies to the more developed tourist infrastructure and industry as a whole. For tourists Norway is ready to offer picturesque equipped ski resorts, unique fjords, deep valleys, thousands of islands, northern lights, midnight sun.
The main point of attraction remains the Fjord Region. They go there to see Norway 's world-famous natural attractions.
Gastronomic tourism is also gaining momentum -recently Norway has been paying much attention to this aspect. Recall that the best restaurant in Scandinavia was recognized as an institution located in Norwegian Stavanger [6].
Sea fishing is still popular in Norway. Behind the large cod and halibut tourists often travel to the north of Norway -in the province of Finnmark and Nurland, and there is growing interest in fishing in the central part of the country -in the region of Trøndelag.
Statistics of overnight stays of Russian tourists in Norway for 2017 showed that the total growth for the year amounted to 17% (about 124 thousand nights). Summer was expected to be successful: according to the results of three summer months of 2017, the growth was 24% compared to the summer of 2016. The low season was also pleased: for example, in November 2017 there were 35.3% more overnight stays than in November 2016. Norwegian ski resorts attract more Russians: December 2017 was 42% more successful than December 2016. Table 2 shows the dynamics of the tourist flow to Norway. According to Table 2, the number of Russian tourists in Norway increased by 8% in 2018. More than 133,000 Russians spent at least one night in the country.
Travel to fjords is the most interesting among Russian tourists. The tourist flow to Norway has increased from all over the world. In 2018, 10.1 million Europeans (1.8%) visited the country, while 33.8 million (1.5%) visited the country [7]. In general, the number of nights spent by foreign tourists in the country in 2018 amounted to 10.1 million, which is 2% more than a year earlier. Most guests came from Germany, USA, England, Sweden and Denmark, as well as from Asian countries [8].
The Norwegian Tourism Board is VisitNorway active in the promotion of Norway as a tourist destination and is confident that the interest of travelers in this country will not only not decrease, but will also increase [9].

Sweden
In the Arctic zone of Sweden, the attention of tourists is also attracted to natural beautycountless lakes, mountains, national parks, environmentally friendly meadows and forests, cultural monuments inherited from the Sami, traditional northern lights and 24-hour sun for three months.
Total tourist spending last year turned Sweden 's tourism industry into the highest rate of economic growth since 2006. The most visible and growing group in this volume of consumption of tourist services experts call foreign tourists. Last year their share in tourism spending was 42%, which is 11.4% higher than in 2016.
The city Stockholm is hosting more travelers arriving with cruise ships. Thus, this 2018 the Swedish capital was visited by 20 thousand more people than in 2017, the publication Stockholms Hamnar reports. This season, 619,000 tourists visited Stockholm for a tourist purpose. 2017 was also a record year: thus, Stockholm broke its own achievement - Table 3 [10]. The number of employees in the industry increased last year to 175 thousand people, which is 6.4% higher than the data of the previous year. Overall, tourism accounts for about 3% of Sweden 's GDP share [11].
The United Nations expects international tourism to grow by 3.3% each year until 2030. Tourism accounted for 6.3% of Sweden 's total exports in 2017, up from 4.7% in 2012.
According to the latest statistics of the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket), a total of 63 million nights were spent by domestic and foreign tourists in hotels in Sweden in 2017, which is 1.2 million or 2% more than a year earlier.
Overnight stays of foreign tourists in Sweden increased by a total of 4%, and Swedish tourists -by 1%. The tourist flow to Sweden from the United States and China is actively growing, with the growth trend continuing since 2010. In 2017, the number of visitors from the United States increased by 44%, Chinese tourists -by 13.6%, and travelers from Holland -by 12.3%. At the same time, the number of visitors from Norway and Finland is decreasing. However, Norway is the largest foreign market, with almost 20% of foreign guests arriving from there.
The number of nights spent in hotels in Sweden by tourists from Denmark increased by 1% compared to 2016. In total, tourists from Denmark spent 1.145 million nights in 2017. From Germany -3.08 million overnight stays. Tourists from Norway -3.34 million nights.
Overnight stays of guests from Norway have increased by 5% since 2010, the number of overnight stays of guests from Finland has increased by 8%, and guests from Denmarkdecreased by 26% during the same period [12]. Particularly high visitor growth was recorded from the United States, India and China. The Government expects that in the future the tourist flow to Sweden will only grow, which is due to the desire of guests to get acquainted with the nature of Sweden and to plunge into the open and natural way of life of the local population [13].

Finland
On the Finnish side, from the Arctic latitudes, tourists are waiting for thick pine forests, fishrich rivers and lakes, guests have the opportunity to visit cultural attractions, as well as watch the northern lights for three months a year. Most often tourists, on arrival on the Arctic side of Finland, like to visit the Finnish capital Lapland -Rovaniemi. This location is home to a unique, exhibit-rich, exhibition and research Arctic Center. There is also the residence of Santa Claus, which almost all tourists coming to the Finnish Arctic wish to visit. Tourists are invited to diversify their leisure with various active activities -go on a trip by canoe, bike, recover for fishing, swim or ski.
In recent years, interest from Japan has increased -the figure has increased by 57% and China -an increase of 38%.
The importance of tourism in Finland is particularly relevant for remote northern territories, where it plays a key role in socio-economic development, accounting for 47% of the economy of these provinces.
Tourism is now the most important industry in Lapland -tourists from Europe and Asia arrive to get acquainted with the nature of the north. Last year, the total passenger traffic of Finland 's three northernmost airports exceeded 1 million people.
In the first nine months of 2017, passenger numbers increased by 21.2 per cent at Ivalo Airport, 20.1 per cent in Rovaniemi and 30.9 per cent in Kittila. According to Finavia, the growth of passenger traffic across all airports in Finland, including Helsinki, averaged 8.4 percent.
Passenger traffic on the Russian-Finnish border increased by 5.5% in 2019, to 9.5 million people, while Russians began to travel to Suomi by 9% more often.
The share of Russian travelers in traffic on the eastern border of Suomi increased from 71% to 73%, while the share of Finnish citizens decreased from 24% to 22%. If in 2018 our compatriots passed the border control 6.4 million times, in 2019 -6.9 million.
Among the reasons that led to such dynamics, experts of the agency call the fall of the ruble exchange rate, the decline of purchasing power of Russians and the increase in the number of issuance of multiple visas by Finland [15].
The growth of tourism is hampered by a shortage of accommodation. Last December, the number of overnight stays of foreign tourists in Rovaniemi increased by 31%, Visit Rovaniemi reported. This season, thanks to the construction of new hotels near the village of Santa Claus, there will be 500 more beds [16].

Iceland
One of the tourism centers in Iceland is Reykjavik. Iceland 's landscapes are like scenery to fantastic films. Here they go for pacifying silence and stubborn contemplation, the acquisition of a second youth in the turquoise waters of Blue Laguna, the understanding of why the local herring is called "Icelandic gold." Iceland is rich in national parks. Another landmark in Iceland is the Westman Islands. These islands are home to huge colonies of various seabirds -here, for example, millions of axes nest.
Experts estimated that last year the record of stay of foreigners in the country was set. The country reported a record tourist flow for 2017, with 2 million foreign travelers visiting the country last year, 6 times the country 's population, according to Iceland 's Tourism Board.
According to the latest data from the Icelandic Tourism Board, a total of 2017 foreign tourists visited Iceland in 2,195,271,24.2% more than in 2016, when the annual number of travelers was 1,767,726.
Taking into account Iceland 's total population of 334,252, the total number of visitors to the country last year was more than 6 times the number of citizens living here.
The largest increase was provided by tourists from North America, the number of travelers from this region amounted to 680,000 people, over the past year it increased by 36.3%, that is by 181,000 people. In turn, the largest part of these tourists were citizens of the United States -their number reached 576,403 people and the United Kingdom -503,000 people. Analysts stress that it was Americans who have given the largest increase in the number of tourists to Iceland over the past 2 years. The total tourist flow from these two states was about 41% of the total number of travelers who visited Iceland.
The share of guests from Central and Southern Europe increased by 21.8%, from 356,000 to 434,000. It was followed by German citizens, who accounted for 7.1% of the total number of tourists. Travelers from Canada accounted for 4.7%, and from France 4.6% of the total tourist flow. The share of citizens of other states was: citizens of China -3.9% of the total number of tourists, Poland -3.0%, Spain -2.6%, Sweden -2.6%, Denmark -2, 4%, the Netherlands -2.2% and Norway -2.2%.
Experts note an increase in the number of foreign tourists during all seasons of 2017. However, the most popular time for tourism in Iceland in 2017 was spring, at this time of year the growth of the tourist flow was 36.7%. During the winter months, the number of travelers increased by 32.9%, in summer by 17.1%, and in autumn by 15.5%.
According to experts of International Investment, the growth of tourist attendance in Iceland was almost 3.5 times higher than the global growth. According to the UN tourism organization UNWTO, the global growth of the international tourist flow in 2017 amounted to 7% [17].
Thus, according to the agency, according to the results of 2017 Iceland received 2 '195' 271 tourists, while in 2016 this figure was at the level of 1 '767' 726 people. In turn, taking into account the fact that the total population of the country is 334 '252, it can be said that the entry tourist flow to Iceland was 6 times higher. At the same time, the largest volumes were recorded from the US -576 '403 people. Brits, Germans, Canadians and tourists from France follow.
Let us add that Iceland has experienced steady growth in this segment in recent years, including through film tourism, as alien landscapes and islands have attracted writers of "Game of Thrones" and "Star Wars" [18].

Greenland
Greenland is an amazing Arctic land with magnificent coastal landscapes, with deep fjords, massive glaciers, icebergs and a variety of marine animals. In Greenland, ancient Viking settlements, indigenous monuments and the world 's largest national park can be visited.
Traces of former Inuit settlements can be found in other coastal cities in western Greenland. On the western fjords are the ruins of ancient Viking dwellings. You can see all this, and also observe whales and seals almost all year round -here are organized sea tours. Other interesting activities include observation of animals (sheep and whales), skiing and dog fishing, inspection of the Greenland Ice Shield from the aircraft, and hiking and fishing.
In southern Greenland, in the cities of Narsak, Kakortock and Nanortalik there are perfectly preserved ruins of Viking settlements, so it is from here that many ethnographic excursions begin. Tourists can also rest in nature: climbing or spending a few days on a farm. And on the east is Greenland National Park. This largest park in the world with an area of about 1 million square kilometers is home to representatives of almost all Greenland flora and fauna.
At the same time, the number of "Arctic" tourists is small, according to the statistics Greenland visits about 80 thousand tourists, which does not exceed 1-2% of the total number of tourists in Denmark. This is due to various reasons, but to a greater extent quite high cost and a scarce arsenal of tourist products.
Many travelers are interested in the atmosphere, so it is necessary to quickly form a proposal. The island needs to engage international tourists. There are 87,000 guests in Greenland each year. Tourists arrive on cruise ships and planes. Such figures are pleasing, as only 56,000 people live steadily on the island itself. Greenland 's tourism office decided to make the American market a priority. We have established relations with companies that can provide quality promotion of adventure tourism. At present, about 8,000 American tourists have visited Greenland. If you organize a direct aviation service, the number of guests will significantly increase. Since 2014, the annual growth of tourist flow in Greenland has been set at 10%. However, this figure fell to 3% in 2018. It is impossible to say exactly why the number of tourists is decreasing. It is quite possible that the situation was influenced by the withdrawal from the market of low-budget airline WOW Air. After the termination of flights, the tourist flow to Greenland decreased by 11% in the first half of 2019 [19].

USA (Alaska)
Alaska is the largest state in the United States. Vast spaces covered by tundra, mountains (Brooks Range), several reserves and national parks, a breathtaking spectacle of millions of overfly birds and nomadic herds of reindeer -all of which can be seen in Alaska.
Tour operators offer special tours to rafters, fishermen, wildlife photographers, ornithologists and hiking and kayaking lovers.
There are about 30 settlements in the reserve, where the Yupiki -members of the indigenous northern people live.
Last year, 1.85 million tourists visited Alaska. Compared to 2015, the growth was about 4% and 19% more than in 2011. Almost 90% of visits are tourists from the United States and Canada. About 9 -10% -foreign guests. Australia and New Zealand, Great Britain, Germanspeaking Europe, Japan and Korea are the largest foreign visiting markets in descending order. Russians -significantly less than 1% [20].
In the United States, an exotic form of travel such as Arctic tourism is not particularly popular. Tours to Arctic areas are not diverse and are offered mainly "for their own," and American travelers themselves prefer to explore the Arctic "abroad" -the share of U.S. citizens in Russian expeditions to the North Pole on nuclear ice breakers is very significant.

Canada
Canada 's Arctic zone includes the northern regions of Yukon and Nunavut provinces, as well as part of the northwest territories. Here, in the very north of the mainland, the weak, almost intact spaces extend thousands of miles.
Tourists are attracted by the opportunity to get acquainted with local traditions and to dip into the life of the indigenous population. Sea cruises, wildlife excursions, animal observation, hiking, fishing, canoeing, rafting, archaeological and ethnographic excursionsall of which tourists can do in the Arctic part of Canada.
Air traffic is mainly used to travel around the province. Nevertheless, the accommodation, transportation and other services required by travelers determined to visit this distant edge are surprisingly well organized. Tour operators offer cruises on picturesque sea routes: you can admire mountains, icebergs, glaciers and observe animals. Ecological tours of the sea consist of cultural programs, animal observation and wildlife visits. There are many other tourist activities: trips to tundra by dog, skiing, sea kayaking, fishing, as well as research expeditions [21].
A feature of Arctic tourism in Canada is the possibility of visiting a large number of reserves.
This year, China became the second source of tourists visiting Canada after the United States. Nearly 70,000 Chinese citizens visited here in March. The UK, within three decades the second largest visitor, has now moved to third place.
The SARS outbreak in 2002, the global recession of 2008, and the unattractive exchange rate meant that visitor numbers in Canada fell in 2010 to their lowest level since 1972, when the country began to track those statistics.
But now the strengthening of the global economy and the increase in air travel from emerging markets are pushing the development of tourism business. Although the number of tourists visiting Canada is still below the level of the late 1990s, when the country received more than four million visitors per month [22].
Statistics Canada reported that about 21.1 million people came to Canada in 2018 -the highest figure ever. Compared to 2017, which in turn was already record (20.9 million), the growth was 1.2% [23].

Conclusion
It should be noted that the tourist flow to the countries forming the territorial district of the Arctic increases every year. Table 4 for each region shows the average indicators of tourist flows for 2017-2019. The maximum number of tourists in 2017-2019, which is on average from 33800.0 to 6650.0 thousand people per year, visited the regions of Norway, Finland and Canada. At the same time, it should be noted that according to the data of the Fontanka.ru source, the indicator of tourist flow in Finland should be taken as relative, which is connected with the growth of tourist flow throughout the country and its decrease in the northern regions, which are as close to the Arctic as possible.
The second place in the ranking of countries belongs to Iceland, the USA and Sweden. There the attendance rate of tourists of countries in 2017-2019 varied from 1981.5 to 609.0 thousand people per year. And the least visited region was the Russian territory of the Arctic. There the indicator slightly exceeded the value of 1 thousand people per year.
Thus, it can be noted that the hypothesis put forward has been confirmed. Despite the fact that in modern, constantly changing conditions the tourist and recreational sphere of Arctic Russia has spread its borders both deep and wide, it is still at a relatively low level of development. Tourism and recreation in the northern latitudes of our country are far from optimal, which is explained by a number of reasons of external and internal order [24]. The primary reason lies in the fact that the transport accessibility of the Arctic region of the Russian Federation is extremely undeveloped. There are practically no roads aimed at meeting tourist needs, transport is aimed only at meeting the needs of the local population, tourist infrastructure is not developed. Tourists are attracted by foreign northern resorts aimed at meeting their needs and having the necessary resources.
Despite the significant investments of the state in the development of Russian Arctic tourism, it is still significantly lagging behind its real capabilities, which are determined both by natural and geographical conditions and by the presence of a large number of monuments of history and culture.
The impetus for the development of the hospitality industry in the Russian Arctic Zone should be the participation of private investors in the construction of collective accommodation facilities, restaurant business, transport services, tour support services.
Development of Arctic tourism is the sphere of application of private interests of tourism industry companies, which simultaneously influence the economy of the region as a whole.