National parks in Russia

Main article: Tourism in Russia

Chronicle

2024: The most visited national parks

Roszapovedtsentr of the Ministry of Natural Resources of Russia published data on the most visited national parks in the country in 2024. According to the data presented in February 2025, the Kislovodsk National Park became the leader with an indicator of 5.14 million visitors.

The second place in the ranking was taken by the Sochi National Park, which was visited by 2.79 million tourists, and closed the top three "Elk Island" with an indicator of 1.67 million visitors.

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Фото: Freepik

Kislovodsk National Park is the largest man-made park in Europe, covering an area of ​ ​ 966 hectares. The head of Kislovodsk, Yevgeny Moiseev, emphasizes the uniqueness of the park's terrenkurs - special therapeutic paths that contribute to the restoration of health.

Laura Nakoryakova, Deputy Director of the Center for Evidence-Based Expertise of the Gaidar Institute, notes the growing interest of citizens in cultural, educational and natural tourism. This is facilitated by the development of tourist infrastructure, including the construction of ecotropes, campgrounds, visit centers and equipped parking lots.

Alexander Zheleznyak, an expert in the field of sustainable tourism at the Reserves eco-center, points out the need to design a specialized infrastructure for specially protected natural areas, taking into account the specifics of each zone.

In order to develop ecological tourism, national parks are introducing digital services, including electronic passes, navigation applications and information signs. Tourist trails and equipped places for recreation are actively developing.

The total flow of tourists to specially protected natural territories of federal significance in 2024 exceeded 17.5 million people, an increase of almost 20% compared to 2023, when 14.56 million people visited these territories.

To control the tourist flow and minimize the impact on nature, modern TECont are being introduced, including the use of drones and CCTV cameras. Particular attention is paid to environmental education programs and training tourists in the rules of behavior in natural zones.^[1][2]

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