Today, the Murmansk region—a traditionally industrial region—successfully exports unique experiences: from hunting for the northern lights and encountering whales to experiencing the night sun, northern traditions, and Arctic cuisine.
Deputy Governor of the Murmansk Region Alexandra Kondaurova spoke about this at the plenary session of the VI International Tourism Forum "Travel!", which opened at VDNKh in Moscow.
As the Vice Governor noted, over the past 10 years, the Murmansk Region has made significant progress in developing a modern tourism product.
"In the Murmansk Region, tourism has become a driver of the economy, including the service sector. This is especially true for small towns, of which there are many," emphasized Alexandra Kondaurova.
Since 2019, the tourist flow to the Kola Arctic has reached approximately 4 million people. Today, every third tourist in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation chooses the Murmansk Region for their trip—the closest Arctic region, with a flight from the main airports taking no longer than a movie. Based on the 2025 results, the region ranked among the top 10 regions in the Tourist Attractiveness Index of Russia, with approximately 800,000 visitors. In the 2026 winter season, the region demonstrated the largest increase in tourists among the Northwestern Federal District regions (+24.4%), ranked among the top three in the Northwestern Federal District for the increase in international tourists (+33.8%), and ranked first in the country for the share of international tourists among all those accommodated in the Kola Peninsula (24%).
Deputy Governor of the Murmansk Region Alexandra Kondaurova also participated in the sessions "Discover Russia: New Tourism Products for Foreign Tourists and Unconventional Ways to Promote Them" and "New Tourism Clusters in the Russian Arctic: Investment, Infrastructure, and Logistics," with the topic "Murmansk Region. The Closest Arctic."
The presentation presented the region's tourism potential, key areas for industry development, and approaches to developing modern tourism products and promoting the Murmansk region in domestic and international markets.
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As a reminder, the 6th International Tourism Forum "Travel!" opened yesterday at VDNKh in Moscow. This key global event in the Russian tourism industry brings together industry professionals and a broad audience of travelers. The number of visitors is expected to exceed half a million.
The Roscongress Foundation, in conjunction with the Ministry of Economic Development and with the support of the Russian Government, is organizing the international tourism forum "Travel!"
/ Ministry of Tourism and Entrepreneurship of the Murmansk Region /
