Arctic Tourism as a Driver of Sustainable Development of the Territory: Research of the Interest of Local Stakeholders in the Komi Republic

Abstract

In recent decades, interest in Arctic tourism has been growing at a high rate all over the world. The relevance of this area is also increasing against the background of global climate change and the development of so-called “last chance tourism”. The Russian Arctic has unique competitive advantages in the Arctic tourism market, preserving vulnerable Arctic and tundra landscapes under various anthropogenic activities, a large number of national parks and historical and ethnographic heritage. At the same time, a number of single-industry towns are also concentrated there, which have practically no revenue base. According to many researchers, Arctic tourism can become a driver for the sustainable development of the territory and local communities of these towns. But to realize this scenario, the interest of local stakeholders — representatives of government, business and the population — is necessary. This article is devoted to the analysis of the results of a study of local communities’ interest in tourism development as a driver of sustainable development of the territory. The Arctic zone of the Komi Republic, namely the former mining town of Inta, was chosen as the area of study. The results of desk and field studies carried out within the framework of the research expedition in the Arctic zone of the Komi Republic are described. A comparative analysis of international studies on the topic has been carried out, a conceptual model of the attitude of local communities in the Arctic to the development of tourism in the region and the results of in-depth research and focus groups with key stakeholders of tourism in the Komi Republic have been described, limiting factors and potential for the development of Arctic tourism have been identified on the example of the selected territories.