Sustainable Tourism Development in the Nordic Arctic

The challenge of Sustainable Nordic Arctic Tourism: The purpose of the project is to analyze, through in-situ case studies, the effects of the currently combining economic and societal shifts in two important Arctic industries – tourism and the extraction of living marine resources. These shifts present opportunities and challenges to sustainable economic development in the Nordic Arctic, and may initiate from a variety of sources. In tourism, they include: increased accessibility and interest in tourism worldwide, due to both higher incomes and lower costs; increased “large” and “small” scale activities, e.g. cruises and fishing trips; increases in interest in exotic/extreme locations and ‘last-chance’ tourism; and/or expansion in infrastructure available to access locations (e.g. Keflavik). In marine resource extractive industries, they include: increased management of living marine resources for long term sustainability; product differentiation for marine resource products (e.g. Marine Stewardship Council Certification); and restrictions to markets (e.g. Greenland seal fur). We investigate not only the relative roles of these various global industrial shifts, but also considerations that are especially important for the Arctic, in order to offer solutions to the challenges posed. These challenges include:
A. “Hard but uncertain limits” to seasonality
B. Frequent difficulties with capacity and supply routes
C. Opportunities for extractive and non-extractive marine wildlife use

Engelsk