In the modern globalizing world, the issue of tourism is becoming increasingly important, as it becomes not only a private affair of individuals, but also falls into the category of soft power. In Russia, the level of tourist development is largely determined by the regional features and the level of infrastructure development, however, the northern part of the country is of a crucial importance for this study. Tourism here is closely related to ecology, economic development, cultural features, scientific and educational sphere and a number of other key issues. This work is aimed at highlighting these relations and formulating offers for their development or regulation. In the course of the study, actual types and routes of tourism were regarded in order to help in illustrating statistical data. Also hereafter the experience of Western European countries (Norway and Denmark) is being analized, in order to understand whether it can be implemented in the case of Russia at various levels of interaction or not. The article reveals the results and consequences of ongoing governmental and non-governmental measures. In some cases, the influence and participation of the local population in shaping suitable tourist environment is considered. In general, this work is of great importance in understanding the essence of the processes taking place in the Arctic and subarctic region and can serve as the basis for a deeper analysis of the situation in tourist sector in the Far North region of the Russian Federation. The study also explains the expansion of the tourist industry in order to preserve current economic situation at the same level by redistributing the share of profits from the resource-extraction sector to the tourist sector.