Tourism and recreation

Russia

In recent years there has been an upsurge of Arctic tourism in Russia. Previously the Russian Arctic was visited almost exclusively by foreigners, but these days Russian tourists are showing growing interest in this northernmost region. Russia has significant potential to develop this area. The Russian zone is the biggest in the Arctic, and it is rich in tourist attractions: vast expanses of tundra and forest-tundra, with an abundance of wildlife; islands featuring polar desert and semi-desert terrain; innumerable mountains, lakes, and streams offering recreational opportunities; the highest ethnic diversity in the Arctic, including indigenous peoples; and historical artifacts and monuments.

The Chukotka Autonomous Area placed fifth in the rating survey, after receiving 46 percent more tourists, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Chernyshenko and Minister of Economic Development Maksim Reshetnikov who cited Rosstat’s tourist traffic data for January-October 2025.

“We can see a stable trend when tourists are exploring additional venues across Russia. This is facilitated by the comprehensive development of the tourism infrastructure, construction of additional hotel suites and the creation of new points of attraction; on the whole, this boosts the quality of tourist products and makes them more attractive,” Maksim Reshetnikov added.

According to Dmitry Chernyshenko, 76.2 million tourist trips were recorded nationwide in the past 10 months, a 4.8 percent increase on the same period of 2024.

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18 August 2016

Tourism and recreation

Sailing the Nikolai Gogol paddlewheel steamer

Tourism in the Arctic

The Northern Maritime Museum