Attitude of Residents of an Arctic Single-Industry Town to Tourism Development (Based on Survey in the Murmansk Oblast)

The article raises the question of the tourism development possibilities in the conditions of Arctic single-industry towns from the viewpoint of local residents. On the one hand, the tourism sector is a very dynamic and flexible system of various activities, which has a powerful multiplicative effec...

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Main Authors: Ekaterina N. Sharova, Galina V. Zhigunova
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Northern Arctic Federal University 2025-03-01
Series:Арктика и Север
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.arcticandnorth.ru/en/article_index_years.php?ELEMENT_ID=398417
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author Ekaterina N. Sharova
Galina V. Zhigunova
author_facet Ekaterina N. Sharova
Galina V. Zhigunova
author_sort Ekaterina N. Sharova
collection DOAJ
description The article raises the question of the tourism development possibilities in the conditions of Arctic single-industry towns from the viewpoint of local residents. On the one hand, the tourism sector is a very dynamic and flexible system of various activities, which has a powerful multiplicative effect on the well-being and quality of life of specific territories. On the other hand, single-industry towns as a special type of settlement are generally characterized by a number of features that limit the development of tourism: lack of social infrastructure, dependence on the position of the city-forming enterprise, and low involvement of the local population in the service sector, which has a special local identity. In the conditions of the Arctic territories, additional restrictions arise due to natural and climatic factors and negative demographic trends. At the same time, the so-called “human factor” is of particular importance, reflecting the willingness of local residents to participate in the tourism industry. In order to identify attitudes towards tourism, including ideas about the problems and prospects of its development in the Arctic single-industry towns of Russia, the authors conducted a sociological survey among residents of the Pechenga municipal district in the Murmansk Oblast (n = 456 people) in 2021. The results of the survey revealed the attitude to living in this territory, perceptions of the prospects and barriers to tourism development, readiness to integrate into the tourism industry. Despite the general positive assessment of the tourism development prospects in single-industry towns and interest in the tourism as a whole, the population demonstrates a rather inert life strategy, including low readiness to receive tourism education.
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spelling doaj-art-ffadbc1dfa3a43f381aa4a18da87fae32025-08-20T02:25:47ZengNorthern Arctic Federal UniversityАрктика и Север2221-26982025-03-01585817618610.37482/issn2221-2698.2025.58.212Attitude of Residents of an Arctic Single-Industry Town to Tourism Development (Based on Survey in the Murmansk Oblast)Ekaterina N. Sharova 0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9042-3570Galina V. Zhigunova1https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7981-9278Murmansk Arctic UniversityMurmansk Arctic UniversityThe article raises the question of the tourism development possibilities in the conditions of Arctic single-industry towns from the viewpoint of local residents. On the one hand, the tourism sector is a very dynamic and flexible system of various activities, which has a powerful multiplicative effect on the well-being and quality of life of specific territories. On the other hand, single-industry towns as a special type of settlement are generally characterized by a number of features that limit the development of tourism: lack of social infrastructure, dependence on the position of the city-forming enterprise, and low involvement of the local population in the service sector, which has a special local identity. In the conditions of the Arctic territories, additional restrictions arise due to natural and climatic factors and negative demographic trends. At the same time, the so-called “human factor” is of particular importance, reflecting the willingness of local residents to participate in the tourism industry. In order to identify attitudes towards tourism, including ideas about the problems and prospects of its development in the Arctic single-industry towns of Russia, the authors conducted a sociological survey among residents of the Pechenga municipal district in the Murmansk Oblast (n = 456 people) in 2021. The results of the survey revealed the attitude to living in this territory, perceptions of the prospects and barriers to tourism development, readiness to integrate into the tourism industry. Despite the general positive assessment of the tourism development prospects in single-industry towns and interest in the tourism as a whole, the population demonstrates a rather inert life strategy, including low readiness to receive tourism education.https://www.arcticandnorth.ru/en/article_index_years.php?ELEMENT_ID=398417tourismsingle-industry townarctic zone of the russian federationquality of life
spellingShingle Ekaterina N. Sharova
Galina V. Zhigunova
Attitude of Residents of an Arctic Single-Industry Town to Tourism Development (Based on Survey in the Murmansk Oblast)
Арктика и Север
tourism
single-industry town
arctic zone of the russian federation
quality of life
title Attitude of Residents of an Arctic Single-Industry Town to Tourism Development (Based on Survey in the Murmansk Oblast)
title_full Attitude of Residents of an Arctic Single-Industry Town to Tourism Development (Based on Survey in the Murmansk Oblast)
title_fullStr Attitude of Residents of an Arctic Single-Industry Town to Tourism Development (Based on Survey in the Murmansk Oblast)
title_full_unstemmed Attitude of Residents of an Arctic Single-Industry Town to Tourism Development (Based on Survey in the Murmansk Oblast)
title_short Attitude of Residents of an Arctic Single-Industry Town to Tourism Development (Based on Survey in the Murmansk Oblast)
title_sort attitude of residents of an arctic single industry town to tourism development based on survey in the murmansk oblast
topic tourism
single-industry town
arctic zone of the russian federation
quality of life
url https://www.arcticandnorth.ru/en/article_index_years.php?ELEMENT_ID=398417
work_keys_str_mv AT ekaterinansharova attitudeofresidentsofanarcticsingleindustrytowntotourismdevelopmentbasedonsurveyinthemurmanskoblast
AT galinavzhigunova attitudeofresidentsofanarcticsingleindustrytowntotourismdevelopmentbasedonsurveyinthemurmanskoblast