On the number of ecotourists in Russia

The implementation of the federal project "Conservation of Biological Diversity and Development of Ecological Tourism" (2018-2024) has given a new impetus to the development of nature-oriented travel in Russia. The number of specially protected natural areas (SPNAs) of federal significance, especially the number of national parks, is constantly growing. The flow of visitors to nature reserves and national parks is increasing. Political and military events had an indirect positive impact on this trend, which partially reoriented outbound tourist flows to the domestic market. The Covid-19 pandemic (2020-2021) contributed to the development of ecotourism, during which many tourists sought to avoid destinations with mass crowds of people and rushed to sparsely populated natural sites remote from large cities. At the same time, the opportunities for studying the state of ecological tourism in Russia have improved - Rosstat and the Ministry of Natural Resources have begun to regularly provide quantitative information on the parameters of the network of protected areas, on the infrastructure available in protected areas, on visitors to nature reserves and national parks. Based on official statistical information, the article analyzes the development of a network of protected natural areas in Russia. The dynamics and magnitude of tourist flows in protected areas of the federal level are considered. At the same time, people who walked along the trails and routes inside the protected areas were considered ecotourists, and the protected areas themselves were considered ecotourism destinations. Along with the positive achievements, dubious aspects and obvious omissions have been identified, raising questions and compromising successes of the project "... Development of Ecological Tourism".