Ecological tourism as a factor of sustainable development of the Western Arctic

The article is based on the expert assessment of ecological tourism as the priority and competitive type of recreational nature management in the Western Arctic. The theoretical provisions are developed and the importance of the tourism industry in the sustainable development of the Russian Arctic is determined based on the analysis of problems and prospects of the modern development of ecological types of tourism in the regions and centers of tourism. The specificity of tourism is discussed considering the increased interest in the Arctic, the growth of cruise tourism and the increase in the anthropogenic load on the polar landscapes. Proposals are given and priority strategic tasks for the development of Arctic tourism are formulated: minimization of anthropogenic impact on the environment and preservation of the cultural and natural heritage of the Arctic, increasing the availability of Arctic territories for tourists. Development of competition in the field of transport, simplification of logistics, the combination of sea cruises with air travel to reduce the cost of travel for those wishing to visit the unique high-latitude Arctic territories and increase the tourist flow. Due to the predominance of expensive types of tourism in the Arctic, support for low-cost and high-income tourism destinations is needed. Innovative investment projects in the field of the Arctic tourism based on clusters could attract tourists and additional investments in infrastructure modernization.


Introduction
Considering generally accepted theoretical definitions, ecotourism is a form of sustainable The tourism industry has consistently called for an effective "mechanism" for the transformation of natural sites into meaningful memorable experience for travelers and tourists [2, Binkhorst E., Dekker T.D.].
Ecological tourism in the Arctic orients tourists to communicate with nature and not just nature but its primeval beauty. So, the most suitable areas for ecological tourism are those with a special environmental status and, above all, the national parks. National parks, incl. the NP "Russian Arctic" -an example of a specially protected natural area, are the most promising form of management of natural resources and environmental protection. They have all the necessary conditions for both working out methods of preserving natural and cultural heritage and for the development of limited tourism and its classic environmental direction.
In 2016, the scientific reference edition "Arctic tourism in Russia" [3, Arctic tourism...] was published by the NArFU publishing house. For the first time, the book presents systematically analyzed aspects of resource potential, attractiveness, opportunities and challenges of ecological, cruise, international and other types of the Arctic in Russia. In the first part of the book [3, Arctic tourism..., pp. , the basic concepts of tourist attractiveness of the Arctic Islands, resource potential, prospects, opportunities and threats of the Arctic tourism, the tourist rating of the areas of the Russian Arctic and the challenges ecological tourism are presented. The challenges and prospects of the Arctic tourism were also in a focus of the whole section called "Arctic tourism in Russia" of the "Arctic and North" journal (electronic scientific journal of NArFU) No. 23 for 2016. It includes articles by well-known researchers: D.V. Sevastyanov, Yu.F. Lukin, V.S. Kuznetsov, and N.M.

The theoretical concept and the value of ecological tourism for the sustainable development of the Western sector of the Russian Arctic
Now, the tourism industry is one of the most important sectors of the economy for many countries and communities around the world. In the Arctic, considering its remoteness and seasonality as well as the historical predominance of intensive exploitation of natural resources, the tourism industry shows a significant increase in the number of tourists and the share of revenues It should be noted that tourism in the Arctic has its own regional specificity, associated with special natural and climatic conditions and the need to ensure reliable safety of tourists staying there. In addition, for the Arctic specially protected natural areas (protected areas), the issue of accessibility is very important, as well as sea or air travels to the high-latitude Arctic for tourists plays an important role. All this complicates the work of tourist companies and does not contribute to their economic efficiency.
In general, it could be noted that all the tourist companies operating in the Arctic are interested in a minimal impact on the environment caused by the population in the Arctic. So, the nature remained in a natural state favorable for animals and birds [6, Kuznetsov V.S., p. 42-57].
The development of measures aimed at increasing the attractiveness of the high-latitude Western Arctic archipelagos for the development of tourism should be based on the peculiarities of the geographical location of these territories. First of all, it is necessary to consider the inaccessibility of the territory, the island's maritime location, severe climatic conditions and pronounced seasonality, which do not allow to speak about the year-round visits. The remoteness of the territory from major transport hubs and the priority of sea transport to reach the islands determine the high costs of sea cruises, which prevail in the Arctic tourism.
Also, the cost of sea cruises depends on the tour operator, the class of the vessel, the comfort of the cabins and the duration of the trip. These factors objectively hinder the availability of the Arctic tourism for many social groups in Russia. The cost of the Arctic tours for Russians is also high due to the devaluation of the ruble. Nevertheless, we positively assess the existing opportunities for the development of the Arctic tourism in the Russian Arctic. Also, it should be emphasized that the opportunities of the existing resource potential of protected areas are not fully used.
The most urgent problem is the consideration of the optimal capacity of protected areas to take tourists from the standpoint of ecology. It is very important not to harm nature, not to de- Travel to the Arctic should be available to tourists with different levels of income. It is necessary to develop competition in logistics and transport services to improve transport accessibility and to reduce travel costs.
One of the promising directions of economic diversification in small settlements of the Western Arctic is tourism. However, only mass tourism could give a multiplier effect and become a driver for the development of small business. Innovative investment projects in the Arctic tourism should attract tourists to the region, and this, as it is known, will attract additional investment in infrastructure modernization and sustainable development of the Western Arctic.
The peculiarity of tourism in the Western Arctic is tourist activities associated with the predominance of the niche types of tourism (sea cruises, mountain ski tourism), aimed attracting tourists with high income. Despite the fact that niche tourism is an expensive type, its contribution to the economy of the subjects of the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation is not more than 1% due to the transport remoteness, low investment activity of regions, and low profitability of some types of tourism. As a result, the long-term strategic tourism activities in the Western Arctic will support cost-effective and profitable types of tourism, e.g., event and eco-tourism [8, Leonidov E.G., pp. 206-211].

Areas and tourist centers of the Wester Arctic
The territory of the Western Arctic includes the entire Murmansk region, The non-German In the park, the largest in the Northern hemisphere bird markets, walrus rookeries, home to polar bears, bowhead whale and seals are found. The park is created to preserve the unique nature of the Arctic. The main type of the tourist delivery is sea cruises, which are one of the strategic objectives of the national park.
In connection with the creation of the national park, icebreaking cruises to the North pole are carried out from Murmansk mainly through the FJL with a visit to the Novaya Zemlya. In the summer 2015, 11 cruises were completed in the NP "Russian Arctic". Among them -7 cruises to the North pole on the nuclear icebreaker "50 let Pobediy" (it is the hallmark of the Arctic tourism, as it is an exclusive Russian tourist product) with a visit to the FJL. One of these cruises to the "top of the planet" had almost 100% Chinese tourists 3 . In 2015, the total tourist flow to the NP "Russian Arctic" amounted to 1,225 people, which is a record in the entire history of cruises to the area 4  In 2017, the territory of the NP "Russian Arctic" was visited by 1,142 tourists. The growth compared to 2016 was 20% (Table 1). This year, cruise ships following three routes entered the the organizers of ice-breaking cruises. The guests of the national park took part in the garbage collection in the Tikhaya Bay (Hooker Island), which is now completely cleared of man-made garbage.
Each tourist gives the national park around 50 euros income 7 . It is invested in environmental projects and infrastructure development. "Russian Arctic" is the main operator of a large-scale federal program of cleaning the Arctic from waste left from the active economic, scientific and military activities of the USSR in these territories. Simplification of logistics, e.g., the use of aviation, will make it cheaper to travel to a na- Currently, due to problems with the coordination of the park boundaries between regional and federal departments, creating of the Khibiny national nature park is being delayed. The creation of the national park adjacent to the territory of the tourist cluster with the same name in Kirovsk is provided by the "Concept of development of specially protected natural areas of federal significance" adopted by the Government of the Russian Federation. The Lovozero area will not be included in the national park. According to environmental experts, the ecosystems of the Lovozero Mountains as part of the now existing regional reserve "Seydyavr" or the proposed new ethnoecological protected area will be maintained much better than in the federal national park. The organization of a national footpath could be an innovative direction in the development of ecological tourism in the Extreme North. National trails are mass pedestrian routes that have become very popular all over the world, except for Russia. It can be proposed to organize such a trail on the territory of the Khibiny and Lovozero. The national footpath should be extended, equipped, accessible to all segments of the population and free to visit. The trail should be laid by experienced tourists along unpaved paths calling at the most beautiful and interesting places in the region.

Conclusion
In conclusion, it should be noted that the intended role of the tourism sector in the preservation of the cultural and natural heritage of the Arctic territories makes it possible to consider the Arctic tourism as an innovation, formed among the regional and sectoral innovation systems of the territories themselves. Global warming, an increase of the Arctic waters in the summer frees up the northern seas for cruise navigation, which predetermines wide opportunities for the development of marine and ecological tourism.
The primary strategic objectives for the sustainable development of the Arctic tourism in the Western Arctic should be:  increasing the availability of the unique Arctic areas for tourists with different income levels;  organization of regional tourist and recreational clusters on the basis of modernization of transport and tourist infrastructure;  creation of a special cruise fleet and coastal tourist infrastructure (to increase the stay of tourists on land);  attracting investment in the tourism industry of the Arctic in the form of a public-private partnership;  strategy of global promotion of the tourist potential of the Russian Arctic;  development of competition in the field of transport, simplification of logistics;  minimizing the human impact on the natural environment of the Arctic;  preservation of cultural and natural heritage sites of the Arctic -the most important indicator of the presence and activity of Russia in the Arctic, the issue of national security [10, Grushenko E.B., pp. 75-76].