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Murmansk expects to welcome 530,000 tourists every year by 2035

More than one in two tourists coming to Arctic visit the Murmansk Region, Murmansk's Mayor Yury Serdechkin stressed

MOSCOW, April 24. /TASS/. The Murmansk Region plans the number of visitors will grow to 530,000 people a year within the next decade - by 2035. At the moment, about 300,000 people come to the region every year, Murmansk's Mayor Yury Serdechkin told a municipal forum.

"In 2015, [Murmansk] welcomed 128,000 people, in 2023 - 295,000 people, in 2035 [is expected to welcome] - 531,000 people," he said.

More than one in two tourists coming to Arctic visit the Murmansk Region, he continued. "As for the city, the figure is about 300,000 [tourists], which means that more than half of the tourists coming to the Murmansk Region do not visit the city [Murmansk]. <...> Our key task is to attract such tourists to the city. We are the gateway to the Arctic."

The city's hospitality facilities are not sufficient to accommodate all tourists, he said. Besides, with the new modern terminal at the Murmansk airport, the number of passengers will double from 200 to 400 passengers an hour.

The mayor noted that events are also popular with tourists. For example, about 6,500 people visit the traditional Holiday of the North, and about 10,000 people participate in the annual Gulfstream Sports Festival.

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