Cultural and natural heritage, as the basement for the development of the ecological and ethnological tourism in the European North of Russia

In Russia, one of the most advantageous position in the terms of tourism development is the European North, with a unique combination of natural and recreational conditions and major cultural heritage. There are 22 historical cities and eight national parks, four Museum of worldwide concern, about 19 thousand objects of cultural heritage in the region. Russian North – is the monument of the world culture, are the cultures of the various people and the ethnic groups: Sami, Pomerania, the Nenets, Komi, Karelians, Veps, Finnish, Russian, which determines the scope for the development of the ethno-graphic tourism.

At the present stage, the most efficient and dynamic tourism in the Northwest of Russia is developed in the Republic of Karelia, which has become a real euro touristic region. In 2010 Karelia visited 1,000,000 620 thousand people with a combined income of all kinds of tourism totaled 4.18 billion rubles in the tourism infrastructure attracted 480 million rubles of the private investment. In the gross regional share of the product of tourism is 12.1% (1st place among the regions of the North-West). The rate of the growth of tourism behind other regions of Karelia several times.

The tourism industry is successfully developing in the most famous and popular tourist unique areas where new jobs are created, there is additional investment, supplemented revenues of the local budgets, developing new event-activities to attract tourists. On the Kola Peninsula is: salmons rivers and the city of Kirovsk, in the Arkhangelsk region - Museum "Small Korely" Kargopol, Solovki, Kiya Kenozersky island and national park, in the Vologda region - Kirillov (the largest Orthodox monastery in Europe), Gorizia and in Ustyug - the national Park "Russian North", in Karelia - Valaam, Kizhi, Sortavala, Petrozavodsk, national parks, and in the Komi Republic - Europe's largest national park "Yugydva Island" and one of the Seven Wonders of Russia - "Pillars of weathering".

The most developed in the region are "elite" and expensive types of tourism: water motorship cruises (the most popular form of tourism), recreational salmon fishing, ski tours, business tourism in cities. Mass flows of amateur tourists (mostly rafting Karelia and the Murmansk region) is not bringing a special economic benefit regions.

The most successful implemented tourism project of the European North has an investment project "Veliky Ustyug - homeland of Santa Claus." Thanks to him, a small historic northern city became known throughout Russia, becoming one of the fastest growing tourist destinations in the region. Thus, the number of tourists has increased from three thousand in 1998 (the beginning of the project) to 209 thousand in 2010 (an increase of 70 times). Total income from the project for 11 years of its implementation amounted to 2.3 billion rubles. Great Ustyug also famous for its folk arts and crafts, monuments of civil architecture of the church and the world level ("North Suzdal"), a unique dialect of Vologda - the northern dialect of Russian. This sets the possible inclusion of the Great Ustyug a World Cultural Heritage Site.

For a short tourist characteristics of the region on a European scale can be used the slogan "Russian North - is the wildlife and water areas of Europe." That that's just the basic capital for the development of natural and ethno-ecological tourism - the fastest growing sector of tourism.

According to Russian experts the total capacity of the recreational and educational resources of the European North of Russia is 8.1 million people a year.

In the nearest future, special attention should be paid to the development of tourism such as environmental, ethno-graphic, agro-tourism, socio-cultural, sports and health, which are still in a nascent stage and the formation and can not compete with the elite and expensive forms of tourism. Must shift the flow of the domestic tourists - residents of the European North towards the region. In Russia, a sharp rise in tourism services begins deter not only the Russians, but also foreign tourists. The negative factors of Russian reality, you can also add the lack of the development of tourist infrastructure, dirty city with a huge flow of vehicles, broken roads, problems with the safety of tourists, the lack of advertising, tourist maps and guides to the interesting, unique remote territory.

In the neighboring developed countries of Fennoscandia (Norway, Finland), the total income from tourism is up to 30% of the total budget. For comparison, in the Vologda region profit from tourism accounts for only 5% of the budget and 3.3% of the gross regional product, despite the fact that the flow of tourists to the Vologda region in 2010 increased to 1.5 million.

Tourism development strategy of the region – is the formation of its own tourist product and its promotion on the foreign markets. In the coming years, tourism can be a powerful factor in the stabilization of the economy of the North to the global economic crisis. For realization of this vision requires a significant investment in the tourism infrastructure, to create a favorable economic environment for the development of the tourism in the North West, the creation of a system of the economic incentives for the investors.

Formed on the European North of Russia as the largest European network of the national parks and nature parks, nature reserves and conservation areas can be considered as the basis and the main resource for the development of tourism.

From the point of view of the conservation of the indigenous people and live traditional culture of the Russian North is much more effective to develop the cultural and natural tourism Small, opening up opportunities for livelihood throughout the region. It does not require large investments. The initial impetus for the implementation of the new idea would be to create innovative kernels based on ethno-cultural centers and ethno parks in different parts of the European North. Ethno park museum under the open sky – is the object of the cultural tourism, interpretive dialogue of the different cultures through the authentically created ethno yards where tourists can stay and develop manufacturing technology folk arts and crafts from the local artists.

Currently, the European North has three architectural-ethnographic museum reserve in the open: Kizhi in Karelia Small Karelians in the Arkhangelsk region, Semyonkovo in the Vologda region. Planned organization of the Finno-Ugric ethnic park in the Republic of Komi, ethno park in Lovozero district of Murmansk region. On the Kola Peninsula tourism on the main centers are: the village of Lovozero (valid Sami national cultural center, Sami held games), Umba village (site of the international folklore festival Pomeranian), an authentic museum Pomor Tetrino fishing on the White Sea. Attracts tourists as cultural preservation in the historic village of Old Believers Kimzha (Arkhangelsk region) and Ust-Tzilma (site of the folklore festival "Ust-Tsilemskii Hill") in the Republic of Komi. In the villages of Karelia, Vologda and Arkhangelsk regions actively developing farm tourism.

Throughout the territory of the Republic of Karelia from veppskogo Sheltozero up to the White Sea Karelia to the process of the creating ethnic and cultural centers. One of the first such centers was organized in the administrative center of Kalevala national region (village Kalevala) ethno-cultural center "Vienan Karjala." Its main task, along with the solution of problems of revival of spiritual and cultural heritage and the development of small businesses needed to create infrastructure of the international tourism in the White Sea Karelia, including the territory formed now ethno Kalevala National Park. The integration of the cultural heritage in the local areas of the ethno-cultural center can best combine the idea of keeping with the idea of the revival of the unique territory. The complex of the ethnic and cultural center, as a rule, includes the national museum, concert hall, cottage crafts and guest house.

Using the ethno-graphic rural tourism can be revived such unique Karelian villages as Panozero, Haykolya, Kinerma, Selga, Shueretskoe, who saved all authentic monuments of the wooden architecture and folk traditional historical habitat.

Reviewer—Sokolova Flera Harisovna, Doctor of History, Professor