TASS, June 3. Authorities of the Yamalo-Nenets Region plan the local tourism sector will recover to the pre-crisis level by 2022, the government’s department for youth policies and tourism told TASS.
Earlier, the government told TASS that in 2020 the region welcomed 125,562 tourists (29% growth year-on-year). The number of tourists shrank after April, 2020, due to the restrictions. In 2020, the tourism sector’s services were worth 1,018,573,900 rubles, or $14 million (29% decline year-on-year).
"We expect that by the yearend we will serve a number of tourists similar to the number of tourists served last year - ahead of us are still the summer and autumn, and the winter season, which on the Yamal begins in nearly November, and hopefully, next year, we will reach the pre-crisis level," the department said.
Regional tourism operators have prepared new programs to attract tourists, the local government said. Some of them are in trophy fishing, collecting wild berries and mushrooms, as well as rafting, and tracking routes. The regional operators offer both well-known and brand-new routes. For example, Europe’s Easternmost Point tour includes a guided tour of Salekhard, a tracking route in the Polar Urals, meeting Yamal’s indigenous peoples at summer pastures, nature attractions and a visit to a musk ox farm. "These attractions are taking tourists to Europe’s Easternmost Point, which is marked with an arrow, where tourists love make pictures," the tourism department said.
During two recent professional tourism exhibitions, Yamal has focused on promoting summer products, the government continued. Results of a survey conducted among 120 federal tourism operators show that 15% of the respondents named Yamal as a new regional direction they have discovered. "Do we expect bigger numbers of visitors? Sure," the regional government said.
Changing trends
The Yamal government pointed to the recently changing trend on the tourism market. Growing interest to domestic tourism focuses mostly on active, even extreme, and educational programs.
On the Yamal, these directions, along with ethnography trips, are promising and they develop actively. Thus, tourism operators are working on new attractive routes, the government plans infrastructure upgrades and incentives for business initiatives.
"Every year, we organize a competition to support domestic tourism and programs for coming visitors," Yamal’s government said. "The incentives make 7,000,000 rubles ($96,000)."
"By the way, this year, we announced a new competition on April 19, and everyone is welcome to participate and offer new ideas," the government added.
In addition to that, in 2021 the region begins an active phase of making a new tourism-recreational complex near settlement Kharp. In future, this infrastructure project will be a locomotive to develop the Polar Urals as a tourist destination. This project and the renovated airport in Salekhard will attract both Russian and foreign tourists, the government said.
Unlocked international flights will boost tourism recovery
Arctic Tour agency Director Alexei Tarasov says only unlocked air communication with other countries may help the regional tourism sphere. Before the pandemic, about 80% of the company’s annual income came from foreign tourists.
"There cannot be a mysterious remedy to attract tourists, and we can recover only when the borders are reopened," he said. "Winter on the Yamal is long, and this is the season which attracts most tourists. Besides, foreign tourists are more ‘expensive’, they pay more for what they receive."
"In fact, by having served foreigners in winter, we could offer modest prices for Russian visitors in summer," he added.
The biggest numbers of visitors from abroad, arriving to see Yamal, come from Spain and France, he continued. "They appreciate the local coloring. They want to see deer herders, deer, to stay in a chum (tent)," he said.
The companies, which mostly served local tourists, have survived the pandemic period easier, he continued. Arctic Tour now also works mostly with Yamal’s residents. However, if international borders remain locked, it will take the company more than a year to restructure the business to serving Russian tourists.
"In order to restructure to serve Russian tourists, we will need at least 3-4 years," he told TASS. "This time will be necessary to have people living in St. Petersburg learn about our direction, and understand that it may be interesting here in any season," he added.
The Yamalo-Nenets Region was established in 1930. It is located mostly north of the Arctic Circle, and the other part is on the slope of the Urals ridge. The climate is cold. Some areas have the perennially frozen soils. The cold Kara Sea is nearby. Winters in the region continue for up to eight months.