Water Transport in Arctic Tourism Logistics

The success of Arctic tourism development is associated with solving the problem of delivering tourists to the places of their interest. “The Concept for the Development of Cruise Tourism”, approved by the government of the Russian Federation in 2022, suggests that overcoming the transport problem in the Arctic is possible thanks to water transport. It can be used in the logistics of Arctic tourism as a way of transporting tourists on routes and for organizing sea and river cruises. We have examined the current use of water transport in the organization of tourist routes in the Russian sector of the Arctic based on information from river and sea cruise operators. In addition, we have identified regions where water transport is used to organise passenger transport. In the European part of the Russian Arctic, water transport is most actively used for river cruises. Arctic river cruises provide tourists with the opportunity to travel in areas where there is no special infrastructure. In this case, river routes usually start southwards in the most populated regions. In the Asian part of the Russian Arctic the number of cruises is smaller, they are carried out only on three rivers — the Ob, the Yenisei and the Lena. But there are also regular passages that can be used by tourists travelling to the Arctic. Using content analysis of tourists’ reviews of Arctic river cruises we have identified the main drawbacks of their organization. SWOT analysis of the use of water transport in the logistics of Arctic tourism showed what hinders its development. The main problems of water transport use in the Arctic include the ageing of vessels, passenger safety, short navigation period and shallowing of waterways. The most promising ways for the use of water transport in Arctic tourism are inland waterways in the European part of the Russian Arctic, the White Sea and the Barents Sea.