The tourism vector for the Karelian Arctic development

The article presents an integrated approach to considering the tourism vector of Karelian Arctic development. Six municipalities of the Republic of Karelia, included into the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, have become a model site for the study. Severe natural and climatic North conditions, along with challenges of socio-economic development, actualize the perspective of tourism and recreation, including for the local population. For the first time in the study, the territory of the Karelian Arctic was comprehensively examined from the standpoint of tourist and recreational development. The study analyzes tourist and recreational potential, tourist infrastructure, including infrastructure of accommodation, catering, leisure and recreation, tourist flow and types of tourism; projects of tourist orientation, strategic directions of tourism development in the municipal context. The opinion of the residents of the Karelian Arctic about the tourist and recreational development of the territory is also taken into account, and limitations and current challenges are highlighted. The study reveals the diversity of municipal districts in the Karelian Arctic in terms of tourism and recreational potential, the degree of tourist development of the territory, tourism development opportunities, the constraints. Despite the existing limitations, on the basis of the identified opportunities, the significance of the tourism development vector of the Karelian Arctic is shown as a promising direction of domestic tourism in the Russian North, as well as a tool to restore physical and emotional strength of the local population.