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Almost half Russians agree Arctic has good conditions for tourism — survey results

Despite the low awareness of the Arctic, most Russians (76%) said they wanted to receive more information about the macroregion

MOSCOW, December 25. /TASS/. The NAFI Analytical Center with support from the Far East and Arctic Development Corporation conducted a survey, where results showed that 45% of Russians believe that the Arctic has good conditions for tourism.

"Almost half of our citizens (45%) say the Arctic has favorable conditions for tourism. Noteworthy, young people (12%) are twice as likely to call them very favorable than other Russians (6%)," say the survey results, obtained by TASS.

Despite the low awareness of the Arctic, most Russians (76%) said they wanted to receive more information about the macroregion. The overwhelming majority (96%) said there are a number of barriers that prevent Russians from traveling to the Arctic, the most serious being the climate and the remoteness from the "mainland".

While listing the barriers, the majority (61%) mentioned harsh climatic conditions - this opinion is especially common among women (65% versus 57% men), as well as among Russians who do not plan to visit the Arctic in 2025 (67%). Arctic residents (73%) more often than people from other regions (61%) insist on the harsh climate as the main obstacle to Russians traveling to the Arctic.

Among other reasons to refuse from traveling are the geographical remoteness (39%), the high cost of travel and accommodation (33%), and overly complicated transport routes (32%). More than a quarter of Russians (27%) believe they refrain from visiting the Arctic due to fears for own safety in remote areas and the lack of high-quality medical services there.

The NAFI Analytical Center conducted the research in November, 2024, using its own Tet-o-tvet research platform ('otvet' is 'response' in Russian). The center's specialists surveyed 1,600 Russians over the age of 18. The error margin does not exceed 3.1%.

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