Directions and Priorities for Tourism Development in the Arctic: Content Analysis of Strategic Documents

DOI:

The research was supported by Russian Science Foundation grant No. 24-28-00092,

Tourist and recreational development of the Arctic regions of Russia is positioned as one of the priority and/or promising areas of economic activity, which is reflected in the main strategic documents of socio-economic development [1, Kondrateva S.V.; 2, Noeva E.E.; 3, Kropinova E.G., Smirnova E.]. In addition, the Arctic zone is home to 19 small-numbered peoples, objects of their historical and cultural heritage, which have historical and cultural value of global significance 1. Taking into account the importance of tourism in regional development, the issue of compliance

^∗ © Kondrateva S.V., Shlapeko E.A., 2024

This work is licensed under a CC BY-SA License of regional strategic directions of its development with the key directions declared by the federal agenda for tourism development of the Arctic seems important. This article is devoted to the study of the specifics of strategizing the tourism sphere in the regions of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation.

In this study, for the first time, documents for planning tourism development (strategies, concepts, programs) of all Arctic regions of Russia are considered on the basis of content analysis, which makes it possible to correlate the federal Arctic agenda with regional ideas for the development of Arctic territories. The practical significance lies in the possibility of harmonizing strategies at the federal and regional levels, jointly developing directions for the development of Arctic tourism. The purpose of the work is to determine the key directions and priorities for tourism development in federal and regional policy, as well as to identify the compliance of regional strategic directions for tourism development with the key directions for tourist development of the Arctic declared by the federal agenda.

Theoretical approaches to research

The issues of strategic management of tourism development both at the federal and regional levels seem to be one of the topical areas of scientific research in recent decades. Thus, in the collective work of I.I. Kruzhalin (Professor, Vice-president of the National Academy of Tourism, full state advisor of the 3rd class, Head of the department of recreational geography and tourism of the geography faculty of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov), T.N. Menshikova (Acting Head of the Department of state tourism projects and tourism security of the Federal Agency for Tourism) and K.V. Kruzhalin (Associate Professor of the department of recreational geography and tourism of the geography faculty of Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov), the “set of regional documents of strategic planning, organizational and managerial relations ensuring sustainable development of tourism in the management of tourist territories” is analyzed [4, p. 139]. The authors emphasize that “strategic planning of tourism based on the principles of sustainability is the basis for the effective development of the tourism industry and should be implemented at the federal and regional levels” [4, p. 146]. According to Academician V.L. Quint (foreign member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, creator of the theory of the global emerging market, developer of the general theory of strategy), strategic management is understood as “the process of formation and functioning of the strategic management system that ensures the development and long-term implementation of the strategy, its doctrine, in accordance with the competitive advantages, priorities, goals and objectives contained in them, contributing to the embodiment of the fundamental values and interests of the object of strategizing” [5, pp. 8–9]. Issues of strategic management of tourism development occupy a central place in the works of I.Z. Chkhotua, A.A. Muradov (researchers at Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Moscow), the methodological basis of which are the works of Academician of the Russian Academy of Sciences V.L. Quint on the theory, methodology and practice of strategizing [6; 7]. Ac- cording to V.L. Quint, “strategy is a system of searching, formulating and developing a doctrine that will ensure long-term success with its consistent and complete implementation” [8, p. 10]. However, M.K. Alimuradov and L.I. Vlasyuk (researchers at the Moscow School of Economics, Moscow State University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Moscow) identify the existing contradiction in the formation of strategic documents: “there are practically no economic entities left in the country that have not submitted strategic documents in one form or another” with “the absence of a unified understanding of the essence of strategizing processes” [9, pp. 155–156]. Revealing the identified problems, the authors conclude that “a large number of strategic documents, especially those concerning regional and sectoral strategies” demonstrate “an urgent need to form long-term concepts, optimize the use of available resources, create conditions for economic and social development, and increase the level of competitiveness of regions and sectors”, however, “adopted strategies undergo fundamental changes within a few years, leading to the impossibility of their consistent implementation, and the resources allocated to achieve the goals stated in previous versions are irretrievably lost” [9, Alimuradov M.K., Vlasyuk L.I., p. 156]. Among other reasons, Alimuradov M.K. and Vlasyuk L.I. emphasize the following: “the absence of a single, generally accepted methodology for developing regional, sectoral and corporate strategies”, “artificial substitution of strategizing processes with long-term planning and forecasting processes”, as well as “underdevelopment of the regulatory framework governing strategizing processes” [9, Alimuradov M.K., Vlasyuk L.I., p. 156]. At the same time, as I.V. Katrin, a researcher at the Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov (Arkhangelsk), rightly notes in his work, the issue of “the influence of federal center policy on the situation in the regions” is relevant and, in addition to theoretical significance, has practical value: “in modern Russia, the vector and pace of regional development largely depend on the degree of consistency of regional policy with the federal agenda, on the ability of the regions to “fit into” federal trends” [10, p. 29].

The issues of exploration and development of the Arctic territory of the Russian Federation are becoming increasingly relevant, materializing in an increasing number of scientific papers focusing on the Arctic [11, Lukin Yu.F.; 12, Lukin Yu.F.; 13, Sevastyanov V.D.]. A detailed analysis of the results of the implementation of the Strategy for the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation and ensuring national security for the period up to 2020 is the subject of the collective work of A.V. Krutikov (Deputy Minister of the Russian Federation for the development of the Far East and the Arctic), O.O. Smirnova (Doctor of Economic Sciences) and L.K. Bocharova (Department of the World Ocean and the Arctic, Council for the Study of Productive Forces of the AllRussian Academy of Foreign Trade of the Ministry of Economic Development of Russia) [14]. The textbook by Z.Yu. Zhelnina (Associate Professor of the Department of Service and Tourism of the Murmansk Arctic State University, Murmansk), presenting the resources of a number of Arctic regions of the Russian Federation, the system of public administration and the tasks of tourism development taking into account strategies for improving the quality of life, economic, social and environmental sustainability of the territories under consideration, deserves special attention

• [15] . In another work, the author analyzed changes in approaches to tourism management using the example of the Murmansk Oblast. The author concludes that “the integral task of public administration of regional tourism can be defined as achieving synchronization of the interests of subjects of entrepreneurial and public initiative in the interests of territorial development” [16, Zhelnina Z.Yu., p. 92]. It is also necessary to identify works focusing on the cluster approach to sustainable tourism development in the Arctic regions. Thus, the joint work of Professor N.N. Shche-barova and M.A. Kovaleva (Murmansk Arctic State University, Murmansk) presents an assessment of the conditions for clustering the economy of the Murmansk Oblast in the field of tourism, as well as an analysis of the tourism cluster from the standpoint of its impact on the economic potential of the region [17].

In our country, significant attention is paid to the development of tourism clusters, which is reflected in the concepts of long-term socio-economic development and in the development strategies of individual regions. As theoretical and empirical foreign studies demonstrate, the policy of shifting values from helping individual companies to supporting effective large agglomerations between participants in the recreation and tourism sectors is justified. Interaction in a tourism cluster leads to the formation of positive effects due to the presence of spatial concentration of production, as well as active mutually beneficial cooperation between participants in the chain of formation of a tourism product. But the development and implementation of municipal measures to stimulate the creation and development of tourism clusters and the assessment of their effectiveness depend on the type of existing relationships between its participants. This article discusses a cluster approach to sustainable regional development and management using the example of the Murmansk Oblast.

A separate block is represented by the works focusing on the strategizing of local territories. Thus, analyzing the Development Strategy of the Solovetsky Archipelago, Arkhangelsk Oblast (approved by the Order of the Government of the Arkhangelsk Oblast dated July 16, 2013 No. 310-rp), A. Yu. Tsvetkov, Associate Professor of the Higher School of Economics, Management and Law of the Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov (Arkhangelsk), points out the need for special attention to the “economic aspect of planning, increasing the efficiency of development of financing, developing infrastructure projects aimed at developing transport accessibility, improving the quality of life of the local population and the tourist attractiveness of the Solovetsky Archipelago” [18, p. 56]. In another work, the researcher, based on an assessment of the benefits of the transport and geographical position of the main destinations of the Arkhangelsk Oblast relative to the places of formation of tourist flows, using various transport schemes, describes a probable strategy for the development of tourism in the Arkhangelsk Oblast. A. Yu. Tsvetkov summarizes the study by the need to include in the strategy for the recreational development of the Arkhangelsk Oblast measures aimed at improving the transport and geographical position of the main destinations through “improving the transport infrastructure, choosing priority logistics schemes for delivering tourists” [19, pp. 49–52].

Of interest is the study of the policy documents of the Arctic states, permanent participants of the Arctic Council, observer states of the Arctic Council, the AC chairmanship program and the ministerial declaration for the period 1996–2019, conducted by Professor L. Heininen, Doctor of Social Sciences (University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland; Northern (Arctic) Federal University named after M.V. Lomonosov, Arkhangelsk, Russian Federation). Thus, based on the analysis of national policies/strategies, chairmanship programs and the declaration (tourism is included in the 14 selected indicators), the researcher “identified, formalized and briefly analyzed new/emerging trends in the context of the studied narratives, ideas and discourses” [20, pp. 198– 202]. In the work devoted to the theoretical and methodological substantiation of tourism development in the Arctic, N.K. Kharlampyeva uses the “water-basin and water-land approaches, as well as the water-ecological principle within the framework of the integrated concept of a single aqua-territorial natural complex of the Arctic” as the basis for studying Arctic tourism, the choice of which is determined by environmental requirements for economic activity in the Arctic. The author proposes a research matrix for studying the foundations of tourism development in the Arctic, coordinating the levels of applied analysis and organization, the competence of which includes the development of Arctic tourism [21, pp. 127–128].

Despite the diversity of focuses and approaches to studying the management of tourism development in the Arctic territories, there is a lack of a comprehensive study of strategic management of tourism development in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, where documents of the federal and regional levels of all the regions under consideration would be interconnected. The present study is aimed at filling this gap.

Methods and data

The proposed approach based on the content analysis of strategic documents of the federal and regional levels on tourism development in the Arctic territories allows:

• •    to determine the key areas and priorities for tourism development in federal and regional policies;

• •    to identify the compliance of regional strategic directions of tourism development with the key areas of Arctic tourism development declared by the federal agenda;

• •    to identify general trends and regional specifics of tourism development in the Arctic.

The content analysis method applied in the work is widely used in the study of regulatory and doctrinal documents [22, Degterev D.A., Vasilyuk I.P., Baum V.V.; 23, Bokeria S.A., Kerner E.A., Kuznetsova D.A.]. The need to assess the qualitative and quantitative presence of the semantic cores established by the authors required that this particular research method be given central attention. The content analysis was conducted without the use of technological means.

The study included two main stages:

• •    at the first stage, the federal-level strategic documents on tourism development were analyzed in detail: the Strategy for tourism development in the Russian Federation until

  2035, the Strategy for the development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation and ensuring national security until 2035, the National Standard of the Russian Federation. Arctic Tourism, the Federal Law “On state support for entrepreneurial activity in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation”, the Federal Target Program “Development of domestic and inbound tourism in the Russian Federation (2019-2025)” in order to identify keywords (semantic cores);

• •    at the second stage, a detailed analysis of strategic documents on tourism development in nine Arctic regions of the Russian Federation was carried out.

Thus, the study of doctrinal documents of nine Arctic regions of Russia made it possible to identify the place of Arctic topics in the development of regional tourism and the main priorities. In addition, it was possible to demonstrate the common and different in the strategic development of Arctic tourism in a meaningful and clear way, and the identification of the frequency of some semantic cores in the texts of federal documents identified trends that are reflected in varying degrees in regional strategies, concepts and programs.

The object of the study is a set of strategic documents on the development of tourism at the federal and regional levels; the subject is the compliance of regional strategic directions of tourism development with the key directions declared by the federal agenda for the tourist development of the Arctic.

The median indicators are calculated in the work.

Research resultsTourism development strategizing in the Arctic: federal level

The importance of the tourism vector of the Arctic development is emphasized by the adoption of a number of strategic documents at the federal level over the last four years, which establish the regulatory and legal regime for tourism development in the Arctic.

The Strategy for the development of tourism in the Russian Federation for the period up to 2035 is the main framework document defining the policy of the authorities in relation to the tourism industry. The Arctic is mentioned twice in this Strategy. Firstly, in the section on improving the regulatory framework for tourism activities and systemic support measures: “the implementation of the Strategy will require the development of strategic and program documents, as well as other documents for the development of individual areas of tourism, such as the Strategy for the development of Arctic tourism in the Russian Federation for the territories of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation and the regions of the Northern Sea Route, etc.” 2 Secondly, in the section on the development of cruise tourism: “the most promising areas for the development of cruise tourism in Russia will be combined river and sea cruises in the Azov-Black Sea, Caspian and Baltic basins, the development of expedition tourism, primarily in the Arctic zone” 3.

The National Standard of the Russian Federation on Arctic tourism, adopted in 2022, for the first time defines Arctic tourism as “tourism in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, aimed at popularizing its historical, cultural and natural potential” 4. The Standard takes into account the complex climatic and natural features of the Arctic.

The Federal target program “Development of domestic and inbound tourism in the Russian Federation (2019–2025)” includes the project “Russian Arctic” in the Perspective tourist destinations, and the participating regions specializing in “Arctic cruises and expedition routes” include the Arkhangelsk and Murmansk oblasts, the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Krasnoyarsk Krai, and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia). The program notes that “the process of tourist redevelopment of the Russian Arctic should also become a fundamentally new subject of state regulation, implying a systemic interconnection of many local strategies, programs, and projects at the federal, regional, and municipal levels with the interests of economic entities and investors”. Chapter 23 “Proposals for the advanced development of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation” discusses only the development of tourism on Franz Josef Land Island and the Russian Arctic Park. However, it is indicated that “the entire Arctic region in all the diversity of its components and problems should become the object of redevelopment of the Russian Arctic for the first time, and all necessary actions should be considered as part of a single (integrated and systemically linked) regional cluster” 5. Other regions of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation are not considered.

The elaboration of individual measures for the “development of the tourism industry in places of traditional economic activity of indigenous peoples of the Russian Federation” is provided for in Federal Law No. 193-FZ of July 13, 2020 “On state support for entrepreneurship in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation” 6.

Content analysis of federal documents on tourism development revealed four semantic cores that can be considered as key directions and priorities for tourism development in the Arctic: “Arctic” (“arctic”), “eco” (“ecological”), “natural” and “cruise”. Summarizing the federal level of tourism strategizing in the Arctic, it can be said that the federal agenda pays special attention to the Arctic territories, for which the development of cruise and expedition tourism is defined, taking into account the difficult climatic and natural conditions and e conomic activities of the local population.

Tourism development strategizing in the Arctic regions

Analysis of strategic documents of the Arctic regions reveals some specifics of the positioning of tourism development in the Arctic in documents of two levels: in the Strategies for the socio-economic development of regions and in the Concepts/Strategies/State programs for tourism development (Table 1.):

Table 1

Strategic documents of the regions of the Arctic zone of Russia

No.	Strategies for the socio-economic development	Strategies/Concepts/State programs for tourism development
1	Murmansk Oblast
	Strategy for the socio-economic development of the Murmansk Oblast until 2020 and for the period until 2025	Strategy for the development of the tourism and recreation cluster of the Murmansk Oblast for 2021–2025. Order of the Government of the Murmansk Oblast dated 21.04.2021 No. 72-RP
2	Republic of Karelia
	Strategy for the socio-economic development of the Republic of Karelia for the period until 2030	State Program of the Republic of Karelia “Tourism Development” (2016–2030). Resolution of the Government of the Republic of Karelia dated 28.01.2016 No. 11-P as amended on 07.12.2023.
3	Arkhangelsk Oblast
	Strategies for the socio-economic development of the Arkhangelsk Oblast until 2030	Concept of tourism development in the Arkhangelsk Oblast. Resolution of the Government of the Arkhangelsk Oblast dated January 19, 2021 No. 1-pp
4	Nenets Autonomous Okrug
	Strategy for the socio-economic development of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug until 2030	Strategy for the development of the tourism and recreational cluster of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug for the period up to 2022. Resolution of the Governor of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug dated December 15, 2017 N 105-pg
5	Komi Republic
	Strategy for the socio-economic development of the Komi Republic for the period until 2035	Concept of tourism development in the Komi Republic for the period 2023–2028. Order of the Government of the Komi Republic dated December 19, 2023 No. 666r
6	Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug
	Strategy for the socio-economic development of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug for the period until 2035	State program of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug “Development of tourism and hospitality industry” (2022-2035). Resolution of the Government of the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug of December 22, 2021 N 1163-P
7	Krasnoyarsk Krai
	Strategy for the socio-economic development of Krasnoyarsk Krai until 2030	State program of Krasnoyarsk Krai “Development of tourism” (2024-2030). Resolution of the Government of Krasnoyarsk Krai dated 27.02.2024 No. 124-p
8	Republic of Sakha (Yakutia)
	Strategy for the socio-economic development of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) for the period until 2030 with a target vision until 2050	Strategy for the development of tourism in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) for the period until 2025. Order of the Government of the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) dated

		November 20, 2020 N 1070-r
9	Chukotka Autonomous Okrug
	Strategy for the socio-economic development of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug until 2030	Strategy for the development of tourism in the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug for the period up to 2025. Order of the Government of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug dated December 9, 2019 No. 487-rp

* Note: regions partially included in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation are highlighted in italics.

First of all, it should be noted that in the period 2016-2018, the Strategies for the socioeconomic development of Russian regions with a planning horizon of up to 2025, 2030 and 2035 were updated, the Arctic theme was reflected in them. For example, the “Strategy for the socioeconomic development of the Republic of Karelia for the period up to 2030” refers to the formation of the Karelian support zone within the framework of the implementation of the state program of the Russian Federation “Socio-economic development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation”, which, in particular, will specialize in technologies in the field of tourism. In the section dedicated to the strategic direction “Development of tourism and the hospitality industry”, it is proposed to elaborate programs for the development of inter-municipal tourist clusters “Belo-morskie petroglyphs” and “Arctic Karelia” 7.

It should be noted that most regional documents on tourism development were adopted before the development of the regulatory regime for tourism development in the Arctic. It is worth paying attention to the different levels of regional tourism policy documents:

• •    Concepts of tourism development (Komi Republic and Arkhangelsk Oblast),

• •    State programs (Republic of Karelia, Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Krasnoyarsk Krai),

• •    Tourism development strategies (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and Sakha Republic (Yakutia)) and tourism and recreational cluster (Murmansk Oblast and Nenets Autonomous Okrug).

The strategies provide the most complete analysis of the territories in terms of strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT-analysis), assess accommodation facilities, transport infrastructure, list the key attractions of the region, and highlight tourism development objectives. The concepts define the general goals and guidelines for the development of the tourism industry in the region, and also contain a detailed description of the potential and resources of the territory. State programs offer a specific plan of tourism development activities with the indication of implementation dates, financing and executors. Since only the districts of four regions (Murmansk Oblast, Nenets, Chukotka and Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous okrugs) are fully included in the Arctic zone of Russia, the analysis of documents of other regions was carried out in the part concerning the Arctic territories.

Summarizing the above, it should be noted that there is heterogeneity of regional strategic documents on tourism development, their different structuring and content due to the diversity of formats of the documents themselves. In addition, some documents of tourism development practically lack the Arctic vector, at the same time, regional strategies of socio-economic development have a separate section on tourism development with an Arctic focus (for example, in the Republic of Karelia).

Directions and priorities of tourism development in the Arctic: content analysis of regional strategic documents

The study of correlation of regional tourism development strategy with the federal agenda was conducted on the basis of content analysis of regional documents by identifying the frequency of occurrence of the selected semantic cores:

• •    “Arctic" (“arctic") : in the documents, this semantic core is used in various contexts. It refers to the Arctic zone, Arctic territories, Arctic tourism and such state programs as “Arctic hectare” or “Arctic preferences package”. “Arctic” is also used to emphasize the specificity of tourism products.

• •    “eco” (“ecological”) : this semantic core is used in the context of the environmental load on the tourist territory, ecosystem, the development of ecological paths and routes, as well as regional brands. It should be emphasized that the conservation of Arctic resources is one of the vectors that contribute to the responsible management of the Arctic territories.

• •    “natural”: all Arctic territories are distinguished by unique natural resources, the presence of geological natural complexes and a favorable ecological situation. The semantic core “natural” is mentioned when referring to natural and infrastructural conditions, sudden natural phenomena, natural attractions, specially protected natural areas, natural ecological systems.

• •    “cruise” : it is used in the context of river and sea cruises, the development of cruise shipping, which emphasizes the special place of Arctic cruise tourism.

Visualization of the results of the content analysis of regional documents on tourism development for compliance with the trends in tourist development of the Arctic set by the federal agenda allows us to identify some general trends and specifics of the regions (Fig. 2). The frequency of mentioning the identified semantic cores on the graph is indicated as follows:

• •    X axis — “eco” (“ecological”);

• •    Y axis — “natural”;

• •    marker size — “Arctic” ;

• •    color saturation — “cruise”.

The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug stands out from the general picture of following the trends of Arctic tourism development set by the federal agenda; it is not represented on the graph due to the zero values of all semantic cores. Considering that the region is fully included in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, this circumstance may be to some extent due to the format of the strategic document (state program), which does not allow for a detailed and meaningful consideration of the specifics of tourism development.

Among the identified semantic cores, “Arctic” (“arctic”) is the most frequent in regional strategic documents for tourism development (169 times in total). Visualization of the content analysis results clearly demonstrates that the words “Arctic” and “arctic” are most often found in the Tourism Development Strategies of the Murmansk Oblast, Chukotka Autonomous Okrug, and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), which makes this semantic core the most common in the texts compared to other keywords. It is noteworthy that this semantic core is mentioned in the description of specific tourism products: for example, an Arctic rally raid (Sakha Republic (Yakutia)) or “Arctic ethno village” (Chukotka Autonomous Okrug). It is noteworthy that these two regions have chosen specific types of tourism for development: mystical, yoga tours, and paleontological.

Fig. 2. Distribution of Arctic regions by frequency of semantic core mentions in regional strategic documents for tourism development 8.

The second most frequently used semantic core is “eco” or “ecological” (a total of 139 times in documents) and is most often found in regional strategic documents of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) — 39 times and in the Murmansk Oblast — 27 times. In addition, in the Concept for the development of tourism in the Komi Republic for the

• ⁸ Source: calculated and compiled by the authors.

period 2023–2028, this semantic core is used to form the regional brand: “Eco Komi Republic”. The high frequency demonstrates the importance of this area for these Arctic regions.

Despite the third place in terms of frequency of mention of the semantic core “cruise” in regional strategic documents (a total of 107 times), it is noteworthy that the development of cruises stands apart from the highlighted semantic cores. Thus, its indication is completely absent in three strategic documents of three Arctic regions: the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, the Republic of Karelia and Komi (due to this circumstance, the last two are marked with a white marker). It should be emphasized that among the Arctic regions, the Komi Republic is the only region not washed by the waters of the Arctic Ocean. In the Strategy for the development of the tourism and recreation cluster of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug until 2022, this semantic core is found only once. The highest frequency is demonstrated by the strategic documents of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (61 times), as well as the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) and the Murmansk Oblast (20 and 18 times, respectively). Such a high frequency of the semantic core “cruise” in the Strategy for the development of tourism of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug until 2025 is the peak among all semantic cores and is largely determined by the priority of the region. Thus, the implementation of projects for the development of Arctic cruise tourism is positioned as a priority task, since “sea cruises are both one of the popular forms of tourism among guests of Chukotka, and one of the two ways tourists get to the region” 9. It is noteworthy that the Strategies of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug and the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) assess the world experience of developing Arctic tourism, and only the Murmansk Oblast considers the potential of neighboring Russian regions, but as competitors: “The Murmansk Oblast borders the Arkhangelsk Oblast and the Republic of Karelia. The proximity of these regions ensures the similarity of tourism and recreational resources and increases the competition for tourists with the difference in the development of tourism infrastructure and the formation of the region’s brand” 10.

The fourth semantic core “natural” is least mentioned in the documents of the regions on tourism development (a total of 74 times). The greatest emphasis on the “natural” component is presented in the Strategy for tourism development in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia) for the period up to 2025 (mentioned 35 times).

The correspondence of regional strategic directions of tourism development with the key directions of tourist development of the Arctic declared by the federal agenda is observed to a greater or lesser extent in most Arctic regions (8), the exception is the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug. There are three regions where the correlation with the federal agenda is the most complete in terms of frequency of semantic of semantic cores in regional strategic documents for tourism development: the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (146 mentions of the identified semantic cores), the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia, 126 times) and the Murmansk Oblast (102 times).

At the same time, a lack of analysis of the prospects and possibilities of interregional and inter-municipal cooperation was revealed. Solving similar socio-economic problems, forming similar development directions, for example, tourist clusters, Arctic regions will inevitably face increased competition for investment, labor resources and tourists without interaction with each other. In order to strengthen competitive advantages, there is a need to search for organizational and managerial solutions for regional development. In addition, the process of filling Arctic destinations with thematic and strategic directions, which is currently taking place, should be taken into account. In this regard, as Yu.O. Vladykina, Associate Professor of the Novosibirsk State Technical University, correctly emphasizes in her work, further prospects for the concentration and unification of regional tourist zones into full-fledged tourist clusters will depend on the speed of making management decisions in regional policy and the centralization of efforts to attract tourist flows to each territory [24]. Many strategies consider the possibilities of developing international Arctic tourism together with Finland, Norway and other foreign countries, but due to the closure of borders with European countries and the deterioration of relations, joint cross-border routes are not being further developed. At the same time, there is an opportunity to strengthen interregional cooperation within the framework of developing interregional tourist routes, for example, ecological ones, since nature tourism is one of the priority types of tourism for all Arctic territories.

Conclusion

The proposed approach made it possible to identify the key directions and priorities of tourism development in federal and regional policies, the compliance of regional strategic directions of tourism development with the key areas of Arctic tourism development declared by the federal agenda, as well as general trends and regional specifics of Arctic tourism development.

The analysis of federal documents reveals special attention to the development of Arctic territories, including their tourism and recreational development. Thus, content analysis allowed us to identify four semantic cores that can be considered as key areas and priorities for tourism development in the Arctic: “Arctic” (“arctic”), “eco” (“ecological”), “natural” and “cruise”. The federal agenda pays special attention to the Arctic territories, for which the development of cruise and expedition tourism is defined, taking into account the difficult climatic and natural conditions, as well as the economic activities of the local population. The analysis of regional strategic documents on tourism development reveals the existing content heterogeneity and their different structuring due to the diversity of the formats of the documents themselves.

Among the four semantic cores identified from federal documents, the most common is “Arctic” (“arctic”), occurring a total of 169 times. The following semantic cores are presented in descending order: “eco” or “ecological” (similarly, 139 times), “cruise” (107 times) and “natural” (74 times).

The correspondence of regional strategic directions of tourism development to the key directions of Arctic tourism development declared by the federal agenda is observed to a greater or lesser extent in eight out of nine Arctic regions. Among the Arctic territories, three regions can be identified where, from the standpoint of the frequency of semantic cores in regional strategic documents on tourism development, the most complete correlation with the federal agenda is observed: the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug (the selected semantic cores are mentioned 146 times), the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia, 126 times) and the Murmansk Oblast (102 times). The Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous Okrug stands out from the general picture of following the trends set by the federal agenda, where none of the selected semantic cores is found. Considering that the region is entirely part of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, this circumstance may be to some extent due to the format of the strategic document (state program), which does not allow for a detailed and meaningful consideration of the specifics of tourism development.

According to regional strategic documents, Arctic tourism is considered as a complex that includes various tourism areas, such as cultural and educational, natural and ecological, event, children’s and youth, ethnographic, active, as well as rare types of tourism (mystical, yoga tours, paleontological). Meanwhile, natural and ecological tourism are distinguished both as key areas of tourist development of the Arctic territories and as contributing to responsible management of the Arctic.

At the same time, the analysis revealed the lack of assessment of the opportunities and prospects for the development of interregional and inter-municipal cooperation. Further research will be aimed at studying the prospects and potential areas of interregional cooperation of the Arctic regions in the field of tourism in order to develop recommendations for regional, municipal authorities, tourism business to stimulate the development of domestic and international inbound tourism.