Organization of cruise tourism in national park "Russian Arctic": risks and development potential

The article deals with the problems of cruise routes organization in the polar heights within the territory of the National Park “Russian Arctic”. Cruise tourism is one of the fastest growing segments of the tourism market. In 2019, the number of cruise passengers amounted to 26.7 million people (an increase of 3.2% compared to 2018), while the Russian segment accounted for 500 thousand people. The Russian cruise market is one of the most dynamic muscles. In 2019, about 100 thousand Russians used the services of international cruise lines. According to forecasts made before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2027 the volume of world cruise passengers will be about 40 million people. In connection with the ongoing state policy for the development of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, the National Park “Russian Arctic” is a modern point of Arctic tourism growth, which is most available for visiting as part of cruise expedition tours. As a result of the expedition carried out in July-August 2021, the territories of the Russian Arctic National Park were explored within the Franz Josef Land archipelago, as well as the coast of Northern island within the archipelago Novaya Zemlya and the Oran Islands. The research was carried out in order to evaluate the prospects for the cruise tourism development and identify the risks of implementing the cruise tourism projects in the polar latitudes. The article presents the main conclusions on the assessment of tourist and recreational potential, as well as describes the factors hindering the tourism development. They are associated with the peculiarities of the climate, weather and natural phenomena, the vulnerability of landscapes to anthropogenic loads and the administrative and legal barriers to organizing cruises within the study areas.