A3 Refereed book chapter or chapter in a compilation book

The Northeast Passage – Connecting China and the Arctic through cruise tourism?




AuthorsOjala Minna-Liina, Räikkönen Juulia, Kiiski Tuomas

EditorsYoung-Sook Lee

Publication year2021

Book title Asian Mobilities Consumption in a Changing Arctic

First page 85

Last page98

Number of pages14

ISBN978-0-367-48361-6

eISBN978-1-00-303951-8

DOIhttps://doi.org/10.4324/9781003039518

Web address https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/10.4324/9781003039518-10


Abstract

Due to changing ice conditions, Russian Arctic waters and the Northern Sea Route have gained greater relevancy for commercial shipping. At the same time, Chinese cruise and outbound tourism are on the rise. This chapter focuses on analysing the current state of cruise tourism in the Russian Arctic as well as discussing whether it can meet Chinese cruisers’ needs. By combining traffic statistics and information from tour operators’ websites, we conclude that the Arctic cruise industry in Russia is currently a niche for the global cruise tourism industry. While current offerings are unlikely to please the majority of Chinese cruisers, they would suit more wealthy and adventurous ones. In a post-COVID era, peripheral and small-scale cruises also have potential. With planned investments and upgrades of the fleet, the market and clientele may grow and diversify substantially—thus endangering sustainable development in the region.



Last updated on 2024-26-11 at 18:11