Reserve director estimates 30–50% visitor decline at some protected areas

Visitor numbers at some protected natural areas have fallen 30–50% because of the risk of bear encounters, Khakassky Nature Reserve director Viktor Nepomnyashchy told RBC.

Nepomnyashchy, who heads the Russian Union of Travel Industry's ecotourism committee, also cited Kuznetsky Alatau Nature Reserve and Shorsky National Park. He said the effect could be less visible across tourism as a whole than at protected areas.

Their remote infrastructure requires substantial investment, and visitor income had been used for repairs, he said. Summer difficulties obtaining fuel and lubricants added to the problems.

The Bank of Russia's October regional economy report also identified bears approaching settlements and tourist facilities as a factor restraining domestic tourism in Siberia in August and September.

On September 30, Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev said changes were being prepared to let regions regulate brown bear numbers more quickly. Measures under discussion include removing the species from the list subject to hunting quotas.

Natural Resources Ministry figures cited by RBC put Russia's brown bear population at 307,900 in 2026, more than 2.3 times the 1990 level.