The Choice of Tourist Destinations by Residents of the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation: General Trends and Specifics (2004–2021)

Taking into account the importance of maintaining and restoring physical and emotional strength, the need to reproduce human capital in harsh natural and climatic conditions of life, the problem of organizing tourism and recreation for the population of the the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is an important area of scientific research. Despite the growing interest in the Arctic, the issues of choosing tourist destinations by residents of the Arctic regions and their change under the influence of modern challenges remain outside the scope of scientific research. This paper seeks to answer these important questions from the perspective of recreation in the Arctic. The aim of the study is to identify the general trends and specifics of the organized outbound tourism development in the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation under the influence of the modern challenges for the period 2004-2021 on the basis of the official statistical data. The model site of the study is nine Arctic Russian regions, fully and partially belonging to the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation. The study allowed assessing the dynamics, general trends and specifics of the development of outbound tourist flow of residents of the Arctic subjects in comparison with the average Russian indicators in the context of domestic and international tourism. It reveals changes in the volume of organized tourist flow, as well as its redistribution between tourist destinations under the influence of the challenges of our time.