PSKOV, December 5. /TASS/. Cruises from Murmansk to the North Pole may continue to 2035. Every year, more than 500 tourists in groups take the cruises, head of the Murmansk Regional legislature's committee on education, science, culture, family, youth and sports Larisa Kruglova told a meeting of the Parliamentary Association of Russia's North-West's committee on culture and tourism on Tuesday.
"Every year, from the Murmansk port leave 5 cruises to the North Pole on board The 50 Let Pobedy nuclear icebreaker, thus totally more than 500 people every year take this route," she said. "According to Atomflot (nuclear fleet authority), they have planned exploitation of nuclear icebreakers for cruises to the North Pole at least to 2019, and under favorable conditions this tourist product could be implemented up to 2035."
According to the official, an average cost of a cruise to the North Pole is between $6,000 and $7,000.
"The problem of the cruises to the North Pole is that they involve very little the Murmansk Region's tourist sector - on the tour, visitors usually remain in Murmansk for only one night, without having any sightseeing," she continued. "Taking into consideration the clients' high solvency and the stable demand, it would be reasonable to offer to tourist companies onshore sightseeing programs for the cruise passengers."
The Parliamentary Association of Russia's North-West's committee on culture and tourism was organized in June, 2012.