The Murmansk Regional Duma discussed the results of tourism development in the region in 2024. Maxim Bugaev, Acting Chairman of the Murmansk Region Tourism Committee, made a report on the development and state support of tourism in the region.
"The Murmansk region attracts more and more tourists. During the summer and autumn months of 2024, the number of tourist visits to the Tourist Information Center of the Murmansk region increased by 14% percent in summer and by 16% percent in autumn compared to the same period in 2023. Over the past three years, the boundaries of seasonality have been practically erased. Tourists come to us at any time of the year, and many return to walk under the undying summer sun and hunt for the northern lights. There is an increase in the number of tour operators in the region who present various vacation options. Today, 68 regional tour operators are registered in the region, and in 2019 there were about 40 of them. The number of certified guides has increased significantly, at the moment there are already 110 people," Maxim Bugaev said.
Over the past few years, the tourist infrastructure in the region has changed qualitatively, and the number of accommodation facilities has increased significantly. This was facilitated, among other things, by the national project "Tourism and the Hospitality Industry". In 4 years, 63 projects have been supported, 77 jobs have been created and more than 2,000 pieces of equipment have been purchased. Thanks to the support of the federal center, 2 beaches, 2 year-round swimming pools have been equipped in the region, a new sauna and wellness complex has been created, campsites and modular accommodation facilities have been built. It is important to note that the investments of entrepreneurs amounted to more than 500 million rubles.
Work continues within the framework of the implementation of the regional plan "To live in the North" and the national project "Tourism and Hospitality Industry", which allows for the growing flow to create high–quality infrastructure at a rapid pace. Only in 2024, 9 roadside service facilities appeared in the territories of the Pechenga district, Tersk district, Polyarnye Zori and Kandalaksha, which accompany tourists along the auto route "from the White to the Barents Sea".
For hunters of the Northern Lights in the Murmansk Region, the Shining Objects project began operating this year. Business representatives who provide comfortable conditions for observing this natural phenomenon install navigation signs "Northern Lights" at their facilities.
Another traditional type of recreation is skiing and cross-country skiing. In 2024, the Bolshoy Woodyavr ski resort commissioned Russia's first import-substituted gondola cable car on the Southern slope of Aikuaivenchorr, with a capacity of up to 2,250 people per hour.
In 2024, regional support in the amount of 4 million rubles was provided to the subjects of the tourism industry within the framework of the year of cultural and educational tourism, which the recipients directed to projects related to equipping museum expositions, art spaces, theme parks and points of sale of souvenirs.
Tourism projects will also be implemented with federal financial support. Within the framework of a Single subsidy, it is possible to implement projects in three areas:
- equipment for tourism (repair of facilities, renovation of equipment and machinery, purchase of non-capital buildings);
- creation of year-round camping sites (purchase and installation of non-capital modules);
- creation and development of national tourist routes (arrangement of places and objects of attraction, modernization of facilities, including for people with disabilities, manufacture of navigation, purchase of non-residential buildings, sanitary modules).
By the end of this year, it is planned to conclude an agreement with the federal center and in 2025 they will begin competitive procedures at the regional level.
/ Murmansk Region Tourism Committee /