Arctic tourism in the Barents Sea region: current situation and boundaries of the possible

The modern features and peculiarities of the organization of the Arctic tourism in the Russian Federation are considered. Over the past ten years, the geography of recreational nature management and international tourism in the Russian Arctic has significantly expanded. Among the northern countries, Russia has the longest coastline in the Arctic seas and the largest sector of the adjacent shelf and waters of the seas of the Arctic Ocean. So its economic and political interests in the polar zone are obvious. However, compared with neighboring Arctic countries, in the Russian Federation for several reasons the potential of Arctic tourism is far from being fully utilized, and its further development is regulated by natural and anthropogenic factors. On the example of the actively developing Arctic cruise tourism in the Barents Sea region, the existing problems and prospects of the possible development of tourism in the Arctic in modern conditions are discussed. Based on the studies characterizing the modern development of Arctic tourism in general and in the Barents Sea basin in particular, the author made generalizing conclusions, which list the factors limiting the development of Arctic tourism in the Russian Federation.