Essential, legal and environmental aspects of sustainable development of Arctic tourism

The article examines some issues of sustainable development of Arctic tourism in the Russian Federation. The authors make an attempt to formulate the concept of “Arctic tourism”. They analyze existing regulatory framework for the development of Arctic tourism, consider categories and types of Arctic travel on current examples, and identify problems of sustainable Arctic tourism development. The conclusion is that development of mass tourism is not mandatory, as tourism in this region should be developed purely as an exclusive one, because it is necessary to regulate visits to protected natural areas, since otherwise there arise risks of losing the pristine nature of the Arctic.