The cooperation of science and tourism is beneficial for scientists and tourists because it promotes the development of many projects in the Arctic, said Viktor Boyarsky, chairman of the Russian Geographical Society's polar commission.

Boyarsky said this in an interview with RIA Novosti on the sidelines of the international conference Arctic Polar Routes, which is taking place as part of Murmansk International Business Week.

According to the polar explorer, tourism in its usual sense has limited potential in the Arctic: the weak development of infrastructure on the Arctic coast, irregular air links with major centers, and the need to obtain various permits to enter the border zone. Cruises to the North Pole on a nuclear-powered icebreaker, as well as landing at the Barneo station are still popular among tourists.

However, tourism is becoming an important support for science, Boyarsky said. "It turns out that science enters the Arctic on the shoulders of tourism. No one funds science enough for it to run independently. For example — Barneo, where customers sponsored the construction of the station, and scientists from different countries come to this station, with little funding. There are other projects, this is good cooperation," Boyarsky noted.