Franz Josef Land could be a key tourist attraction in the Arctic zone

VORKUTA, November 26. /TASS/. The Franz Josef Land Archipelago attracts many tourists, visiting the Arctic, and it may become a good Russian alternative to the Spitsbergen Archipelago, the International Union of Arctic and Far East’s Marine Natural Reserves’ Managing Director Valery Korovkin told a tourist forum in Vorkuta on Sunday. "The Franz Josef Land Archipelago may become a wonderful alternative to Spitsbergen - every other tourist visiting Spitsbergen wants to visit Franz Josef Land," he said. "A military airfield is under construction now on Franz Josef Land - hopefully, it will be for civil clients, too." "Many experts say Franz Josef Land can become a major alternative to Spitsbergen," he added. According to him, by serving tourists Spitsbergen earns every year an equivalent of five billion rubles ($74.5 million), and the international airport there serves about 80,000 tourists. "From the Norwegian side, everything is ready and works fine, so we should have a similar tourist center on the Russian side, especially since we all know about the high tourist interest to the archipelago." About Franz Josef Land Franz Josef Land is a Russian archipelago in the Arctic. It is a part of the Arkhangelsk Region, and a part of the Russian Arctic National Park. The archipelago was discovered in 1873 during an Austrian-Hungarian expedition of Julius Payer and Carl Weyprecht. In 1914, it was announced a part of Russia. In the 20th century, it became an Arctic scientific center with polar research stations. In 1994, Russia organized a federal natural reserve there. The archipelago is a tourist attraction in the Arctic. A modern military base and an air field have been under construction on the archipelago since 2016. About the forum Vorkuta has hosted the international Arctic tourist forum for the second year in 2018. The event featured more than 150 experts, including from Slovakia, France, and from Russian regions. Vorkuta is a mono-industrial city north of the Polar Circle, where about 70,000 live. About 7,000 are employed with the Vorkutaugol coal producer (fully owned by Severstal). Read more