Research Project: From Resource Hinterland to Global PLeasure Periphery? Assessing the Role of Tourism for Sustainable Development in Arctic Communities

Project leader
Susanna Heldt Cassel
Albina Pashkevich
Project Members
Christina Engström
Maria Thulemark
Project Period
-
Project Status
Completed
Description
The Arctic region has been increasingly highlighted in media, politics, economy and science. This interest is caused by an intensified integration into the global economy on the one hand and the focus of climate change concerns on the other hand. Thus the globalization of the Arctic is contested and polarizes interests related to resource exploitation and nature conservation. In this context tourism development has been identified as a major agent of Arctic change. However, the role of tourism for a sustainable future of the Arctic is debated and challenged. Is it a further exploitation of Arctic resources or does it actually offer alternative and sustainable livelihood options for local communities during a period of global warming and traditional livelihood decline?
The purpose of this research program is to assess the role of tourism in changing Arctic societies. To accomplish this, the role of tourism within socio-economic and ecological systems is addressed; tourism is understood as innovation and is analyzed from the perspective of being a problem to sustainable development, but also as an opportunity for local communities and economies. This is done from a circumpolar perspective although research focus is on Arctic Sweden, Canada.s Yukon and Russia.s Nenets Autonomous Okrug.
Keywords
tourism, Arctic Sweden, Yukon, Nenets Autonomous Okrug
Research Profile
Complex Systems - Microdata Analysis
Subject
Human Geography
Tourism Studies
Financiers
Mistra
Publications