MOSCOW, December 16. /TASS/. Russia's Ministry for Development of the Far East and the Arctic plans to improve transport accessibility for the Spitsbergen Archipelago for Russian and foreign tourists, Minister Alexey Chekunkov told TASS.

"Jointly with our counterparts we have launched regular voyages onboard the Professor Molchanov vessel. In the future, we will offer additional options for Russian and foreign tourists to get to Spitsbergen," the minister said.

Russia continues renovation of Russian settlements in Spitsbergen. "We have been actively renovating our villages in Spitsbergen, upgrading the infrastructures, and we are investing in tourist opportunities of the villages. Here is just one important fact: in the income structure of the trust [Arktikugol] for 2024, two-thirds were already sources that are not related to coal mining," he said.

Earlier, the minister announced plans to organize within a year regular flights to the Spitsbergen Archipelago from Russia. He also said the program to develop the Arktikugol Trust Company in Spitsbergen will upgrade the Russian villages of Barentsburg and Pyramida into centers for international tourism and scientific research. Press service of Yury Trutnev, Deputy Prime Minister and Presidential Plenipotentiary Representative in the Far Eastern Federal District, reported that the number of tourists visiting the territory of Russian presence in the Spitsbergen Archipelago should reach 50,000 a year by 2040.

Russia has been operating on Spitsbergen for more than 90 years. The Arktikugol State Trust was founded in 1931. It produces 120,000 tons of coal per year. The company owns the territory of 251 square kilometers.