SALEKHARD, December 9. /TASS/. Tourism accounts for 967 million rubles ($15.2 million) in revenues of the Yamalo-Nenets Region’s budget since January, showing a year-on-year growth by almost 18%, the regional government’s representative Nail Khairulin told TASS.
"If we include the revenues from hotel accommodation, the amount is 967 million rubles," he said. "If we also include air fares, we shall speak about billions, but here we also count expenses of the locals who left the region for short periods, thus the main direction is the hotel business," the official said. "We speak about a growth by 170 million rubles ($2.67 million) year-on-year."
Over the outgoing year, the region has welcomed 172,000 visitors, he continued, adding the number of tourists visiting Yamal had been growing by 10% in recent three years. "At the same time, we understand that most visitors are people who come to Yamal for business purposes, but parallel to that they spend certain time to see our attractions and to go sightseeing," he said. "Such visitors make about 85%."
About 8,500 foreign tourists have visited Yamal in 2019, he said.
"We explain the figure by many conventions in the region," he told TASS. "Yamal becomes more popular, and the flagship event here is our holiday - the Reindeer Herder's Festival, which is organized in March."
"This year, a record of more than 30,000 tourists visited the festival," he said.
The Yamalo-Nenets Region, most part of which is north of the Arctic Circle, was formed in 1930. The climate is cold. The cold Kara Sea is nearby. Winters continue for up to eight months. In Yamal’s Arctic part winters are frosty, with snowstorms and fogs; and even in the southern areas summers are never longer than 100 days, and not longer than 68 days in the Arctic or sub-Arctic areas.