State of tourism route network of the polar regions of the Russian Federation

The article is devoted to the study condition of tourist routes and associated with them the programs in the polar regions of the Russian Federation. At the first stage of the study the territories that can be attributed to the Russian Arctic have been identified. Further, the technique, allowed the authors to identify the basic properties of the tourist routes and programs by means of scale to measure each of which, has been established. The obtained materials became the basis for the development of form of tourism route passports, according to which collecting of relevant information through open sources was conducted. The information collected on 343 objects was put in a unified database. The research results show that the majority of the properties of tourist routes and programs are very different from the typical situation in the country, identified in previous studies. The most developed route network is represented in Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions. In other regions the tourism development has a local character, and the state of the route network and implemented programs is specific and variably. The following research methods and approaches have been used: situational and systemic approaches, methods of mathematics and statistics, comparative method, analysis and synthesis, abstraction, induction and deduction, geoinformation and cartographic methods. The study results reflect the current state of the tourism route network in the Russian Arctic. It is a factual basis for state policy in Arctic tourism, as well as developing new products for the tourist business. The generated database of tourist routes and programs will allow to improve the information support of subjects of tourism sector (including directly tourists) both in Russia and abroad.