#ARCTIC. #SIBERIA. THIS IS TAIMYR. Every fourth Russian has declared their intention to visit the mysterious northern region in 2025. This is stated in the results of a study conducted by the NAFI Analytical Center with the support of the Council for the Development of the Far East, Arctic and Antarctic under the Federation Council.
“Every fourth person plans to visit the Arctic in 2025: 13 percent are interested in tourist trips, eight percent are considering moving for work or study, and four percent are planning business visits, including shift work”, TASS quotes the study results.
At the same time, the survey showed that most Russians still know very little about the Far North: 90 percent could not remember all the regions included in the Arctic Zone of the Russian Federation, and 29 percent did not name a single one. The worst situation with knowledge is among people aged 35–45.
Those who have seen something in the news about the Arctic in recent months associate this information with ecology (37 percent), industrial production (36 percent), as well as tourism (23 percent) and social programs (22 percent). Only 8 percent have seen something in the media related to education, entrepreneurship or culture in the Arctic.
“A certain deficit of topics in the mass media creates a high demand among Russians for such information about the Arctic, especially about its nature, scientific research, relocation opportunities and development projects. A desire to receive more information about the Arctic was expressed by 76 percent of Russians”, the study results say.
Stereotypes about the Arctic are still strong among Russians. In particular, that it is inhabited mainly by polar bears, that the Arctic is mainly shift camps (while the share of the urban population here is higher than in the country as a whole – about 89 percent), that snow and ice never melt. At the same time, citizens are less likely to believe that Arctic residents live far from industrial centers and are completely dependent on food and fuel supplies.
But, as before, this macro-region is assessed mainly as a place for work, building a career and doing business, as well as for traveling and sports. At the same time, about two thirds are sure that this is not the best place to start a family, have children, and live out old age, that there are problems with quality medical care and active longevity.
The Arctic regions’ residents consider the opportunity to travel and get an education (55 percent), and to realize themselves in a profession (49 percent) to be important advantages of their place of residence.
In general, it is noted that over the past year, interest in working in the Arctic has grown by 4 percent, and by 2 percent in moving to the Arctic region and doing business there.
Earlier, This Is Taimyr reported that Asian tourists also dream of seeing the Arctic.
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Text: Victor Borodin, Photo: Nikolay Shchipko
