Dalarna University's logo and link to the university's website

In this article we explore the fate of high modernist architecture and settlement planning in the North, through the lens of mining towns in Sweden and Quebec. After WW2, cities across the world were subject to a wave of restructuring in accordance with high modernist ideals. The circumpolar north became the subject of some of the most radical examples, often described as utopian. In the Swedish Arctic, a renowned architect Ralph Erskine played a leading role. He combined functionalist principles, with ideas of creating settlements protecting inhabitants from harsh Arctic conditions, in harmony with the environment. Erskine...s ideas were implemented to a different extent in Kiruna and Svappavaara in north Sweden in the 1960's and in Fermont, Quebec, in the early 1970...s. Our aim is to understand the challenges of creating industrial settlements in the Arctic, with the capacity to attract employees that are needed for resource extraction and other industries. While Erskine's architecture in Svappavaara and Kiruna will be demolished, the wall shaped town in Fermont is still intact and expanding. By comparing and highlighting differences, we call attention to the threat of demolition of legacies of an era that has yet to be defined as cultural heritage.

В статье подчеркивается значимость учета геоэкологических аспектов в развитии объектов куль-турного наследия на основе концепции устойчивого развития. В качестве основного направления реализации концепции предложены особенности, принципы формирования культурного ландшафта. Определены подходы концепции культурного ландшафта. Предложен и обоснован выбор информационно-аксиологического подхода.

Heritage tourism is a form of niche tourism which has emerged as an alternative to mass tourism. However the discourses used to market some heritage products generally appeal to an elite group in society who are demanding. Thus heritage tourism is marketed and packaged in a way to appeal to an exclusive group who are interested in tailor-made products that provide some entertainment value. The aim of this paper is to investigate the marketing strategies and goals for tourism development, from the perspective of two World Heritage Sites (WHS) in Sweden including the Great Copper Mountain in Falun and the Old Church Town in Luleå. Accordingly, the discourses used to sell heritage in the context of Sweden are discussed. A mixed-methods approach was used by the authors to carry out this investigation. The results of the analysis revealed that the heritage presented in the two cases are marketed as exclusive and as such, preclude the participation of some individuals. Furthermore, it was established that enhanced communication between WHS products and Sweden and other tourism products would improve visitation.

The Arctic is affected by global environmental change and also by diverse interests from many economic sectors and industries. Over the last decade, various actors have attempted to explore the options for setting up integrated and comprehensive trans-boundary systems for monitoring and observing these impacts. These Arctic Observation Systems (AOS) contribute to the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of environmental change and responsible social and economic development in the Arctic. The aim of this article is to identify the two-way relationship between AOS and tourism. On the one hand, tourism activities account for diverse changes across a broad spectrum of impact fields. On the other hand, due to its multiple and diverse agents and far-reaching activities, tourism is also well-positioned to collect observational data and participate as an actor in monitoring activities. To accomplish our goals, we provide an inventory of tourism-embedded issues and concerns of interest to AOS from a range of destinations in the circumpolar Arctic region, including Alaska, Arctic Canada, Iceland, Svalbard, the mainland European Arctic and Russia. The article also draws comparisons with the situation in Antarctica. On the basis of a collective analysis provided by members of the International Polar Tourism Research Network from across the polar regions, we conclude that the potential role for tourism in the development and implementation of AOS is significant and has been overlooked.

Giving industrial sites new life requires enabling change and overcoming change resistance. By cross-fertilizing relevant managerial and urban development literature, this study develops a theoretical and analytical framework that integrates several factors that can lead to the sustainable transformation of post-industrial sites. Case evidence collected using qualitative methods at the Great Copper Mountain WHS, Sweden, reveals a Managerial innovation model of industrial heritage regeneration which fails to fully engage the surrounding communities. This model is associated with early-stage post-industrial heritage tourism. The resistance, controversy and community misperceptions hindering the adaptive reuse of the site's industrial heritage and urban surrounds are mainly determined by institutional norms arising from the industrial monoculture. Change management entails working to dismantle lock-ins and empower change at different levels.

Industrial areas having faced a collapse of their development model may have come to a new life by repositioning their material and immaterial professional-productive heritage in the local and global value chain and map. This contribution investigates the influence of socio-economic and institutional factors on the adoption of a new regeneration model through the process of rejuvenation of an industrial heritage site and an urban centre in the mining area of the Great Copper Mountain in Falun, Sweden, a cultural World Heritage Site (WHS). Case evidence collected through the analysis of the qualitative data collection shows that the site had adopted a patronage model of regeneration. At the initial stage of its development, both local interest groups and UNESCO’s recommendations were inspired by a conservation-oriented approach. Value creation were confined within the mine site and proceeded mainly through educational activities and traditional cultural tourism. Clearly, this path dependency needs to be reconciled with new narratives including an empowerment of wider local community to participate in industrial heritage hybridization with creativity, extracting value from the site through creative and relational tourism and fostering spill over effects in the surrounding areas.

Studies of wood in the Arctic were carried out on Vaygach Island, Hooker Island (Franz Joseph Land) and Novaya Zemlya. During the expedition "Arctic Floating University - 2013", wood samples (cores) were taken from the buildings in key areas of the Arctic islands. Conforming to the wood samples we constructed tree-ring series and obtained floating chronologies, which were linked to dendroscales of standing trees with known year of each annual ring formation. Crossdating of floating chronologies was performed as follows. Dcndroscalc and floating chronology were overlapped and the synchronicity coefficient was calculated, then the dendroscale was shifted for a year and the coefficient was calculated again; the procedure was repeated until all possible options were checked. Visual similarity was assessed and the annual rings of floating chronology were dated based on the results with the maximum synchronicity coefficient, and the object was dated by the outermost ring. The year of formation of each annual ring of the buildings logs was determined by the dendrochronological method, resulting in assumption of the time of their construction, taking into account that it occurred a year or two after the tree felling. All the studied objects were located in areas with preserved history of their creation, which is highly important for confirming the objectivity of the obtained results. The dates of the buildings were determined as follows: Vaigach Island, 1945; Hooker Island (Franz Josef Land), 1936; the former bathhouse on Cape Zhelaniya (Novaya Zemlya), 1935; timber from the pillbox, 1938; the lighthouse, 1952; the frame on the coast of Ledyanaya Gavan' Bay (Novaya Zemlya), 1938; a relatively modern building on the coast of the bay, 1991. Interesting to note that according to the obtained historical records the Lighthouse was built in year 1954, while dating by annual rings shows that the logs were in 1952 and they were probably imported in advance. The years for the construction research based on the use of the dendrochronological method opens up great opportunities at determining the age of unnamed wooden in the Arctic.

This study uses a post-feminist lens to examine destination-marketing material connected to three sites in Bergslagen, an area located in the central part of Sweden famous for centuries of mining activity. This region continues to have ongoing mining operations, but has also worked at developing cultural and industrial heritage interpretations of its industrial past. A rich history of development based on mines, quarries and smelting huts has created a foundation for possible reinterpretations of history for tourism and became a ground for representation of metanarratives. In this study we analyse three sites located in the area of Bergslagen ˗ Långban, Axmar Bruk (Axmar mill) and Engelsberg Bruk (Engelsberg mill). On-line textual and visual marketing materials used by these destinations allowed for the analysis of representations of the industrial heritage. Using post-feminist theory, we analysed representations of the industrial heritage in the marketing textual and visual materials of these chosen attractions. Our goal was to find the dominant representations as well as to explore what representations were missing from the stories told to the visitors. Our results show that both images and textual material continue to rely heavily on the representations of patriarchal system of Bergslagen and its industrial heritage, whereas the role of female and ‘other’ alternative narratives continue to be excluded. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of how marketing materials remain as facilitators in upholding male and female stereotypes connected to industrial heritage and the conclusions highlight the continued polarisation of gender through contemporary channels of communication.

In this article, we identify and discuss the possibilities, limitations, and challenges ofsustainable tourism development in Southwest Greenland through a consideration of dimensionsof social and cultural capital. We present our findings concerning the current context-specificpromises and problems of tourism development and then discuss suggestions to improve localsustainability. Our argument is that the diverse natural, cultural, and political histories of thisarea offer a range of resources, here conceptualized as dimensions of capital, for multiple smaller,decentralized, and interconnected economic activities that can together contribute to developingtourism. However, such activities in the Greenlandic context also face particular, interdependentchallenges. We suggest that the development of a series of disparate but integrated attractionsmight offer numerous opportunities but that the concomitant challenges necessitate concerted effortsby public authorities to support targeted educational programs and communication infrastructuredevelopments and improve the foundations for decentralized network economies.

This study focuses on the local resource that a mine represents and analyses the role of stakeholders and institutions during the development of heritage tourism. The paper aims to examine the role of stakeholders and their interpretation of heritage in the management process in the case of the Great Copper Mountain World Heritage Site in Falun, Sweden. The paper focuses on local strategies for developing heritage tourism in which concepts of institutions and path dependency in terms of inherited social and economic structures can shed light on more general local development processes. The empirical material consists of interviews, official documents and marketing material. While the goal of many of the interviewed stakeholders is to promote tourism development, a common view is often lacking in terms of what the tourist product is or how the role of the World Heritage Site can be interpreted with regard to tourism activities. There are also sceptical voices regarding the development of activities and attractions devoted to entertainment without educational purposes. The marketing texts focus on the landscape and the 17th century system of production, which further supports the view that the preservation of the remnants from this period will be prioritised in contemporary management policies. The present paper interprets this concept as an indication of the strength of the institutions and ideas that promote the importance of education and historical facts related to mining communicated by former mining-related stakeholders as well as by heritage organisations, including UNESCO.

A mine is not only a site for the production of minerals. The industrial landscape surrounding the mine with the large slag heaps and typical buildings and environments have for hundreds of years been a symbol of production processes, profitable business and hard work. The very same landscape is now interpreted and given quite different meaning depending on the role of the mine in place specific contexts and a global system of production and consumption processes. In the mines of Falun and Kiruna the industrial landscapes are used and given meaning in different ways. One of the reasons for this is that the mine in Falun has been closed since 1992 and the mine in Kiruna is still in use. The landscape as a symbol for the history of the mining and its surrounding activities in Falun are now developed for different types of experience-related activities. The mine in Falun is also classified as a world heritage by UNESCO which gives the mine a special status as an important cultural heritage site. In Kiruna the industrial landscape of the mine is not primarily a landscape of experiences and cultural preservation. The mining company, Luossavaara-Kiirunavaara AB (LKAB) is planning to expand the production with enormous consequences for the town of Kiruna and its cultural heritage. At the same time the industrial landscape of the Kiruna mine is also a potential resource for experiences both in terms of the historical mining town with its old church but also the spectacular mountains of waste stones and the sound of the ongoing production under ground.

Nowadays a mine is seeing not only as a site for the production of minerals. The very same landscape is now also interpreted and given quite different meaning depending on the role of the mine in place specific contexts and a global system of production and consumption processes. Depending on this perspective there are two localities of Falun and Kiruna where the industrial landscapes are used and given meaning in different ways. In Kiruna the iron ore production in response to the external markets demand is expanding. It is a reality that the central parts of the city will be relocated in order to avoid the risk of damage due to the operations in the mine. The latter way of using the natural resource is looked upon as a traditional and thus of an unquestionable matter. Transition to the post-industrial society in Europe made it clear that even mines should be given a different role or face. The transition from one type of industrial production system to more consumer-oriented and highly of a cultural/historical importance is one the way in Falun. Are these ways of seeing the mine contradict with each other? How do they contribute to the overall economic development in these two localities? Our project aims to examine the similarities/differences between the two production systems in order to get deeper understanding of processes that generate regional growth.

The image of the Arctic can be understood as a part of a larger discourse of the north as an uncivilized, untamed frontier, not suitable or accessible for modern, urban people, but a place for strong adventurers, hunters, and explorers. In this study, we seek to understand how hegemonic masculinities of the north both inform and are challenged by tourism and its representations and practices in the Russian Arctic, in particular the Nenets Autonomous District (NAD). The study is based on the analysis of data collected during several field trips to the region during the period of 2012-2013 and 2014, including semistructured interviews with key stakeholders and observations of tourism practices, as well as content analysis of promotional images of selected tourism companies. Tourism in the NAD is typically adventure based: snowmobile safaris, fishing, hunting, and white-water rafting. There are also different types of indigenous tourism, such as living with reindeer herders for a period of time. The tourism industry covered herein consisted of microfirms and small businesses. The entrepreneurs were all middle-aged Russian men and the tourists were predominantly male middle class Russians from metropolitan regions, traveling as groups of friends or colleagues. The results show that despite the willingness of the tourism entrepreneurs to broaden their customer groups and offerings, the products reproduce the destination as a playground for (male) "hook and bullet" tourists. However, there are also examples of how tourism may challenge or reconstruct the understandings of typically masculine or feminine duties or roles in some specific local contexts.

The interest in heritage as a tool for destination development has recently been substantial in Sweden, especially when it comes to receiving World Heritage (WH) status. The possibility of using the WH brand in developing tourism products and marketing destinations has great potential for many heritage destinations. The aim of this paper is to discuss innovation processes within heritage tourism. The focus is on the role of WH status as a factor influencing innovative practices at different Swedish WH sites. This study uses qualitative methods, such as interviews and analysis of written material from five selected Swedish WH sites, with in-depth analysis of the Great Copper Mountain in Falun. To what extent does WH status change the preconditions for tourism development at WH destinations? What is the role of institutional frameworks in this process? This paper will show how WH may facilitate tourism innovation mainly through developing new products and marketing strategies, but also by institutional innovations concerning new forms of collaboration and networks.

The impact of climate change is considered one of the major challenges that the winter sport tourism industry faces today. Sälen, one of the major skiing destinations in Sweden, is situated in the southernmost part of the Swedish mountain range and is therefore one of the most vulnerable destinations when it comes to the effects of climate change. The aim of this paper is to examine and discuss adaptation strategies to climate change that have been implemented in Sälen, with a special focus on increased snowmaking. We discuss snowmaking in relation to alternative adaptation strategies such as increased summer tourism, and relate the adaptation strategies encountered in Sälen to how destinations in the Austrian Alps, which have warmer temperatures, have approached the situation. Those that we interpret as adaptation strategies are mainly focused on maintaining the mass touristic character of winter sports destinations and even extending the production of downhill skiing. These strategies of adaptation and development demand continued intensive snowmaking and an even accentuated quest for snow. However, Sälen is trying to overcome its dependence on downhill skiing as its sole and dominant activity. The strategy of developing summer tourism is problematic, however, not least in relation to the parallel advance in increased snowmaking. 

This special issue focusses on the transition of tourism in coastal communities to more resilient futures. A wide range of land- and marine tourism activities take place in coastal communities, and marine tourism, such as cruise tourism is often promoted as a way to develop the host communities and regional economies. Such communities are, however, particularly vulnerable to disturbances, unexpected shocks, and crises, such as climate change, depopulation, or pandemics. As well as identifying and developing desirable futures, communities need opportunities and activities, including tourism, that create economic value while sustaining livelihoods and restoring and preserving natural and social resources. Change practices, innovation, governance, and resilience are key themes and there is a need to critically rethink the connections between resilient communities and sustainable development in future.As the travel industry rebounds from the pandemic, it is expected that established coastal destinations will continue to grow and new destinations will emerge. While a great debate has emerged around the impacts of tourism on coastal communities and how to manage tourism development to ensure sustainability, we know relatively little about change practices of stakeholders directly affected by and involved in tourism development. Research has shown that, despite differences between communities, the way marine tourism activities are perceived by stakeholders, depends on the balance between different types of visitor segments (land-based, marine-based, organized, or individual travelers) and the development stage of the destination. There is a need for more knowledge on how communities develop change practices and innovate for sustainability and resilience as global anthropogenic transformations have made striving for sustainability more urgent and prominent. Consequently, understanding the environmental, economic, and socio-cultural impacts of tourism in coastal communities, is an important task that has recently been emphasized by several tourism researchers.

In this special issue we encourage an approach that invites many more actors than the tourism industries into a coastal tourism ontology, which allows for telling tourism not as a uni-dimensional ´tool´ for development or ´threat´ for nature and culture of coastal communities, but as a messy, distributed, and collaborative achievement and a process of making-with, becoming-with and thinking-with a much larger collective than the usual tourism stakeholders. By including many stories and identifying the ideological influences that are at work, we can ask whose interests are being served by a particular ideology.

This special issue is geared towards sharing research on the challenges and possibilities of tourism from the perspective of local communities in which it occurs. Academics so far only generated very few insights on how tourism communities are defining, governing, and implementing the principles of sustainability to prevent negative impacts, or to develop in a favorable direction. Consequently, there is a need to explore how local communities understand, engage with, and adapt to coastal tourism and sustainability, or even finding alternative paths to their future development. It therefore seems timely to examine the concepts of change practices, sustainability, resilience, innovation, and coastal community development at both organizational and community level. This call responds to the acknowledgement that tourism needs to be reoriented towards the public good, and that the types of tourism developed should be decided by the local community. We are therefore looking for voices from coastal tourism communities that discuss and imagine ways tourism can be developed to enable human, non-human and environmental wellbeing.

Accordingly, this call for papers seeks original and relevant conceptual and empirical papers on how coastal tourism activities offer opportunities and pose challenges for tourism and hospitality actors, communities, regions, and coastal environment and how these stakeholders adapt, change, and innovate accordingly. We would like to encourage a critical dialog regarding these aspects and engage in the discussions of possible futures for coastal regions, conserving the co-existing development of tourism and other economic sectors.

For this special issue we encourage submissions that that examine sustainability and resilience practices in the context of coastal, Arctic, and Nordic tourism and hospitality. Suggested research themes include but are not limited to:

• Tourism communities: resilience and sustainability• Mechanisms for promotion of the engagement of local stakeholders with coastal and/or marine tourism• Governance and management of marine tourism development• Innovation, knowledge and change management• Institutional entrepreneurship, social movement, and collective action of tourism stakeholders• Employment and labor markets in the context of coastal tourism and hospitality• Emerging, innovative or participatory research methods and methodologies• Community leadership and collaboration in tourism and across other economic sectors• Role of land-based tourism activities in the cruise tourism development: lessons learned and ways forward• Adaptations of coastal tourism development in the post pandemic era and risk management• Role of public and private sector collaboration in adaptations and crisis management in times of global pandemics

In literature on tourism in northern or ‘Arctic’ areas and on regions and places in northern areas, terms such as ‘indigenous’ and ‘non-indigenous’ are often used to distinguish people and places from each other. The aim of this paper is to deconstruct the ‘indigenous’/‘non-indigenous’ categories as well as the geographical categories to which they are linked, using examples from tourism in northern Fennoscandia and northwest Russia, selected as areas with circumstances that vary greatly both locally and regionally. Specific focus is on the construction of labels and restrictions of use, particularly regarding handicrafts/souvenirs as a specific object of indigeneity to separate it from other objects. The study reviews the processes in tourism for constructing, labelling, and valuing – and thereby also exerting power upon – specific conceptions, and thereby also on the contesting of such processes amongst broader, but often unacknowledged, local groups.

The European north is increasingly affected by changes in climate and climate variability. These changes and their causes are global in scope but specific impacts vary considerably between different regions. Recent incidents and events show that forest-resource based regions have difficulties in alleviating adverse effects of these changes. Also, the future socio-economic impact is to date unexplored. Norrbotten in Sweden, Lappi in Finland and Arkhangelsk oblast in Russia are regions that differ significantly in terms of their socio-economic characteristics and capacities. A modified employment multiplier model is used to predict future changes. Scenarios of changing forest resources provide quantitative estimations of the sensitivity of regional employment. These estimates are used to assess and discuss the adaptive capacities of the regions. Results show that Arkhangelsk oblast is more vulnerable to climate variability than Norrbotten and Lappi. This is due to the continued dependency on natural resources in combination with different capacities to counteract negative effects or to take advantage of the opportunities offered by climate change in this region

The Arkhangelsk region is a strategic area for cruise tourism development in the Russian European Arctic. The region offers its visitors a large number of unique natural, cultural, and historical sites. These attract both domestic and foreign cruise lines that provide an opportunity for their clients to explore coastal settlements and the region’s remote areas. However, it can be said that despite the variety of existing national and regional institutional arrangements, as well as the industry’s managerial practices, the sustainable development of marine tourism in the region is highly reliant on local stakeholders, such as local authorities, travel companies, and local providers of hosting/tourism activities. In order to obtain a better understanding of the sustainability of the current development practices, this chapter uses the findings from qualitative interviews conducted in the Arkhangelsk region to examine how cruise tourism in the Solovetsky archipelago, Arkhangelsk region, is managed locally and regionally. Our study emphasizes the need to implement a communication model based on the cooperation and engagement of all relevant stakeholders as a platform to address sustainability issues inherent in the growth of cruise tourism. The study thus helps to address the problems associated with cruise tourism development in the Arctic and to deepen the discussion related to the peculiarities of tourism destination development in the Russian European Arctic.

Indigenous peoples’ right to control representations of their own culture and heritage is unquestionable, but in the case of tourism activities other stakeholders’ understandings come into play. The nation-state is still an important organizational foundation for tourism. For the Indigenous Sámi people, who are located in four different nation-states, national destination management organizations (DMOs) have a crucial role in how their culture and traditions are represented. The current study examines the content of Visit Norway and Visit Sweden’s visual marketing of indigenous Sámi tourism products. Using content analysis to sort electronic images and related texts, categories distinguishing natural, human, and other types of relevant symbols were created. The marketing strategies of both countries reinforce the traditional connection of the Sámi people to nature and their reindeer. Visit Sweden uses a distinct notion of what we call the artification of the Sámi, where young female artists contribute to the modern image of this indigenous people. Visit Norway continues to use more stereotypical representations of the Sámi, with a focus on colourful outfits and traditional buildings. Thus, tourism marketing continues to reinforce simplified images of the indigenous populations of the Arctic and their relation to the nation-state. © 2023 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

This paper addresses human capital in the Arctic in relation to tourism. More specifically, with an ever-increasing number oftourists recognizing the attractiveness of the Arctic, tour companies are increasingly recognizing the opportunities. The media(typically southern media) sells the image, either before or after the tourists arrive, and communities are often left to deal with therepercussions – whether those are social, economic, environmental, or the like. Many of the repercussions are negative; however,even when perceived as positive they can create tensions within small communities and showcase a variety of capacity issues.This paper focuses on the realities and possibilities of tourism in the Arctic. It offers an up-to-date descriptive overview of tourismnumbers and valuations. In addition, ‘realities’ also focuses on the current suite of challenges and ‘possibilities’ addresses criticalquestions that need to be asked as tourism grows. We are in an uncertain age and academic critique of the Arctic tourismphenomenon is growing as quickly as the numbers. This paper is almost fully circumpolar in outlook, written by individuals fromthose jurisdictions, and aims to intersect with other sectors active in the Arctic.

The Russian Arctic territory is an area which significantly influences Russian socio-economic development. It is considered as an important element for the future development of the whole nation, with the hope to utilise its natural wealth discovered during the last decades. Moreover, these considerations are now placed into the context of the faith of the indigenous people inhabiting this vast territory. In contemporary society, both national and regional policies have been influenced in an effort to find alternative ways of engaging the indigenous people in the process of development. This paper aims to identify and analyse the issues influencing process of general tourism development in the Russian Arctic. This done by the re-evaluation of regional tourism planning process and existing products, as well as the marketing strategies of the eight administrative units of the territory of the Russian Arctic, including Murmansk, Arkhangelsk (Nenets Autonomous Okrug) and Tumen oblasts (Jamal-Nenets Okrug), Krasnoyarsk Krai (Taymyr Dolgano-Nenets municipal rayon), Sakha Republic, Chukotka autonomous okrug. Although these territories possess unique natural and cultural characteristics suitable for the development of unique tourism products this potential is either not utilised or only partly utilised. It is possible to identify clear losers as well as the leaders in this process. This situation is often dependent on the level of the engagement of the public organisations, as well as private companies within the natural resource extraction sector. It is an important condition for a successful implementation of the desired tourism development, as well as for the indigenous tourism product development.

Problems and future potentials for the further development of cruise tourism development on the territory of National Park 'Russian Arctic' is a focus for the keynote speech. Current development of the cruise ship tourism in Northwestern Russia (Murmansk and Arkhangelsk regions) is characterized by a great level of institutional instability. Number of controlling authorities on state and regional level has grown dramatically over the past decade during the 2000s. However, the stakeholders on the local and regional level proved to be active and flexible agents of change which contributes to the valuable process of knowledge transfer among the destinations, for example Svalbard and National Park ‘Russian Arctic’. AECOS’s led project concerning the development of site-specific guidelines initiated several years ago resulted in the set of guidelines applied onto the sites on Franz Josef Land. These initiatives along with other actions taken by local and regional authorities of both Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions towards further development of cruise tourism allow for careful optimism.

This study presents the development of the forest sector in the marginal forested areas of the Russian North based on the utilisation of the river basins providing raw material and serving as the natural link between the previously established core and periphery. The forest sector is an important factor in the economic development often serving as the only source of the human subsistence and well-being of these areas. The role of the marginal areas remaining the source of a continuous raw material supply to the main manufacturing centres is crucial. The period of recent Post-Soviet development has showed that marginal areas are becoming increasingly active and concerned with promotion of their economic development by restructuring, rationalising and modernising the forest-based activities.

Nowadays a mine is seen not only as a site for the production of minerals. The very same landscape is now also interpreted and given quite different meaning depending on the role of the mine in place specific contexts and a global system of production and consumption processes. Depending on this perspective there are two localities of Falun and Kiruna where the industrial landscapes are used and given meaning in different ways. In Kiruna the iron ore production in response to the external markets demand is expanding. It is a reality that the central parts of the city will be relocated in order to avoid the risk of damage due to the operations in the mine. The latter way of using the natural resource is looked upon as a traditional and thus of an unquestionable matter. Transition to the post-industrial society in Europe made it clear that even mines should be given a different role or face. The transition from one type of industrial production system to more consumer-oriented and highly of a cultural/historical importance is one the way in Falun. Are these ways of seeing the mine contradict with each other? How do they contribute to the overall economic development in these two localities? Our project aims to examine the similarities/differences between the two production systems in order to get deeper understanding of processes that generate regional growth.

The interest in heritage as a tool for development has been substantial in recent years in Sweden, especially when it comes to the importance of receiving a World Heritage status. Most of the Swedish World Heritage sites were accepted on the UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention list during a very short period of time during the 1990s. Since then the ambitions of the local actors have still been strong and has resulted in five additional nominations during the beginning of the 2000s. There are two more sites that are on the tentative list of properties that could be considered for future nomination by the Convention. How can this interest in receiving the status of World Heritage be analysed and understood? Is it a reflection of the contemporary commodification of culture within a global tourism system? The process of commodification and promotion of heritage for commercial needs is driven by a notion of global competition between places and destinations and a need for development measures in peripheral locations. It is also a process that is closely related to national, regional and local politics and policies of identity formation and economic development. This study is an attempt to examine the role of world heritage sites in the local and regional development practices and the way in which heritage resources are used to communicate specific place identities. How are the World Heritage sites communicated through advertisements and information texts on the Internet? The study is conducted as an analysis of marketing and information material on the Internet from the 14 existing World Heritage sites in Sweden. A classification and comparison of the strategies adopted by each site are also included in the study. The creation of the heritage should not be seen as a simple construction of the past for the means of preserving and consuming the results of this commodification, but as multileveled process driven by several notions, with the prevailing issues of local development and tourist consumption. The existence of these contested views on heritage representation is supported by analysis of the promotional texts from the Swedish World Heritage sites.

An interest to the production of heritage in Sweden has been substantial, especially when it comes to the importance of receiving a world heritage status. Most of the Swedish heritage sites were accepted on the UNESCO’s World Heritage Convention list during a very short period of time of the 1990s. Since than the ambitions of the local actors have not being put to rest but resulted in five additional nominations during the beginning of the 2000s. There are two more sites that are on the tentative list of properties that could be considered for future nomination by the Convention. Is this a feature of a contemporary society focused on the commodification of culture being connected to the recent developments in a global tourism system? This process has certain connections to the issues of globalisation that affecting the needs for reassertion of cultural identity. There are several other factors associated with this tendency, meaning in all cases that the appearances of the heritage sites serve more than one goal. It is a combination of a less implicit national and local politics together with the more obvious commercial aims. This study is an attempt to rediscover these multiple identities with the heritage sites being a resource. How are they communicated to the user through the advertisement and information texts put up on the Internet? The creation of the heritage should not be seen as a simple construction of the past for the means of preserving and consuming the results of this commodification, but as multileveled process driven by several notions, with the prevailing issues of local development and tourist consumption. The existence of these contested views on heritage representation is supported by analysis of the promotional texts from the Swedish World Heritage sites.

Аннотация. Развитие туристической деятельности на российской территории Арктики привлекает все больше внимания. Количество специализированных конференций, форумов, совещаний и других мероприятий, организуемых региональными и федеральными органами управления сферой туризма, а также частными лицами резко увеличилось. Однако в большинстве случаев развитие туризма имеет спонтанный характер и нуждается в планировании на длительную перспективу. Уровень сервиса, туристических продуктов и инфраструктуры туризма в большинстве периферических регионах России значиельно отличаются по сравнению с ведущими административными центрами страны, такими как Москва и Санкт-Петербург. Одной из очевидных проблем, когда речь идет о быстро развивающемся рынке туристических продуктов, является отсутствие сотрудничества между субъектами рынка. Туроператоры из соседних регионов часто находятся в состоянии PR-войны друг с другом, и это оставляет очень мало места для сотрудничества. Это означает, что объединение этих субъектов и cоздание общей стратегии брендинга могли бы улучшить и укрепить позиции периферийных регионов на национальном и на международном уровне. 

Ключевые слова: Арктика, туризм, инфраструктура туризма.

Focus of this study is the current stage of the tourism development of two Russian settlements on Svalbard – Barentsburg and Pyramiden. This study analyses the process of recent tourism development and investigating the settings behind the narratives used in the production of tourism experiences on the archipelago. How mining past and the history of Russian presence are interwoven into the tourism activities and what are they based on? How the stakeholders involved in the current stage of tourism development look upon the motives behind it and justifications of the Russian presence on Svalbard, what are the possible futures of this development? Study utilises mixed-method approach combining analysis of existing published material and extensive fieldwork experience resulting in participant observations and interviews with the relevant stakeholders.

Tourism experiences based on the culture and traditional lifestyle of the indigenous people of Russian Arctic regions promoted more frequently nowadays. Nenets Autonomous okrug, northwestern Russian Arctic territory is one of the examples where this development were underway since the beginning of 2000s. Official version of this development often highlights role of tourism development not only in preservation of Nenets heritage, but also as a mean of modern reinterpretations and revitalization of ancient traditions and practices. How accurately the official version of the role played by tourism corresponds to the reality in Nenets? What are the preconditions for this development and how well the members of the indigenous community incorporated into the process of tourism development and planning? The chapter reviews the results from the participant observations, key informant interviews and content analysis of the published material conducted under the period 2011-2014 on the territory of the okrug. Realities of the development of the indigenous tourism show a clear disparity between the actions undertaken by regional authorities and local entrepreneurs utilizing indigeneity in their tourism operations. Almost a decade of development in tourism sector did not result a development of operational system for participatory decision-making, quality assurance or safety of tourism operations, but characterized predominantly by the ad-hoc arrangements connected to the shifts in regional government or decisions taken by central government in Moscow. It becomes clear that development of alternative paths for indigenous development given a low priority, as region's economic base is dominated by oil and gas exploration.​

Mining heritage is often used as a powerful tool in maintaining a sense of place and national identity and Sweden is not different in this respect. Another important underlying motive for the revival of the mining past is an opportunity of the economic revitalisation of the space marked by the deindustrialisation process. The aim of this paper is to investigate how the mining heritage is interpreted and used for the goals of tourism destination development based on the five provinces in the middle part of Sweden – area called Bergslagen. The first decade of 2000s was characterised by the prevailing top-down approach to the regeneration process of mining landscape of Bergslagen, as it was led by the cultural elite. Thus, resulting in the absence of a diverse and innovative thinking in terms of touristic development of these destinations. Municipalities in the region ended up with the multiple mining sites trying to attract visitors with the similar types of experiences based on limited representations of regional mining heritage. Furthermore, it is suggested that enhancing communication between managers of the mining sites and other tourism experiences would help to improve visitation. Additionally, the alternative representations of the heritage may allow for a wider representation of local people, as well as an awareness of local or regional heritage of Bergslagen. 

Cultural tourism is increasingly used as a tool for the development within the medium-sized municipalities in Sweden. The World Heritage Status is looked upon as a quality stamp giving considerable destination development possibilities. Most of the Swedish World Heritage sites were accepted on the UNESCO’s World Heritage List during a very short period of time in the 1990s. Since then the ambitions of the local actors were strong and resulted in five additional nominations during the beginning of the 2000s. Several other destinations are on the tentative list of properties that could be considered and nominated by the Convention in the future. Previous studies have indicated that managing cultural sites has not always being an easy task. The institutions which role lies in promoting the development on the local arena could in fact become an obstacle. These different interest groups involved in the formation of the heritage make it difficult to form a joint promotion strategy covering a wider audience of users. Cultural or heritage tourism is an example of niche tourism, which is highly specialised and targeting only a certain limited group. Marketing strategies adopted by World Heritage Sites help to identify and support this notion adopted by destinations. This study helps to gain a deeper understanding in how these different heritage sites are promoted to the specific interest group. Are these promotional strategies inclusive or exclusive? The research is based on the text analysis of the marketing and information material on the Internet from the 14 existing World Heritage sites in Sweden. There were some 700 pages of written material analysed in total. The texts were organised into groups related to place description and tourist activities, for example shopping, and dining. The preliminary results support the notion of the tourism industry adjusting itself towards more sophisticated and experienced travellers in their search for small-scale and unique activities. Heritage tourism is a good example of a small-scale niche product. The heritage for sale has to be presented in the way that is going to fit the new niche which has replaced the conventional industrial type of tourism. In order to maintain tourist flows to the heritage sites, involved actors have to diversify and scale down their business strategies. The concept of a place as being unique or of exceptional value with the help of the World heritage status is going to increase its attraction power. The study material allows for a classification (typology) of the World Heritage Sites according to the use of heritage as it promoted to the tourists.

Arctic regions are increasingly dominating global debates concerning the range of effects of the climate changes, especially when it comes to the new possibilities for the natural resource exploitation. Rapid changes in the Arctic open up for a series of discussions connected to the political stability, control and cooperation in this region. At the same time, further exploitation of the considerable natural wealth of the territories of the Russian Arctic calls for a discussion on the role of alternative pathways, especially when it comes to the impacts on the indigenous communities of the region. Tourism activities, if developed, could provide an alternative path for the development of local communities. Central government has recently announced a new development strategy for the Russian North where the sustainable tourism development is named as one of the possible alternative ways for developing marginalised indigenous communities, as well as the part of more open attitude towards foreign visitors in this area. This region is believed to become “an important cultural and economy centre in a Barents region and on the Russian North” already year 2030. However, since the Russian Arctic is facing an increased environmental degradation due to the massive oil and gas exploration operations it is unlikely that a sustainable development of tourism is possible without other sectors of economy following in the same direction. The purpose of this paper is to investigate a current state of the development of the tourism sector in the Nenets autonomous okrug (NAO), as well as to identify primary stakeholders in the context of the tourism development in the region. What are the institutional and political conditions affecting tourism development nowadays? How the system of resource management is organised when it comes to the utilisation and the access to the natural resources, at the same time claimed by other industries? The identification of the primary stakeholders is made through analysis of official documents, as well as web-pages of relevant organisations (governmental, public and private), textual material from daily press sources relevant to the case study are analysed and interpreted. The semi-structured interviews with several actors from different levels of authority will be conducted in order to obtain in-depth insights concerning the present development of the tourism sector. In line with previous research it is possible to conclude that considerable marketing efforts, including investments on basic infrastructure to facilitate tourist flows are necessary in order to fulfil some of the visions towards the role of tourism sector for the Russian Arctic communities. The peculiarities of the highly centralised administrative structure of the Russian resource management system make it highly improbable to ease a burden of the regional and local governmental organisations when it comes to opening up for alternative uses of natural reserves and natural parks by private actors. Rejuvenation of the tourism space in case of NAO is highly questionable due to the strong presence of the hydrocarbon sector in the region and without serious state interventions will remain rather a myth then a reality.

The potential changes to the territory of the Russian Arctic open up unique possibilities for the development of tourism. More favourable transport opportunities along the Northern Sea Route (NSR) create opportunities for tourism development based on the utilisation of the extensive areas of sea shores and river basins. A major challenge for the Russian Arctic sea and river ports is their strong cargo transport orientation originated by natural resource extraction industries. A careful assessment of the prospects of current and future tourism development is presented here based on the development of regions located along the shores of the Arctic ocean (including Murmansk and Arkhangelsk oblast, Nenets Autonomous okrug (AO), Yamal-Nenets AO, Taymyr AO, Republic of Sakha, Chykotsky AO). An evaluation of the present development of tourism in maritime cities suggests that a considerable qualitative and quantitative increase of tourism activities organised by domestic tourism firms is made virtually impossible. There are several factors contributing to this. The previously established Soviet system of state support for the investments into the port facilities as well as the sea fleet were not effectively replaced by creation of new structures. The necessary investments for reconstruction could be contributed by the federal government but the priorities are not set towards the increased passenger transportation. Having in mind, increased environmental pressures in this highly sensitive area it is especially vital to establish a well-functioning monitoring and rescue system in the situation of ever increasing risks which come not only from the increased transports along the NSR, but also from the exploitation of the offshore oil and gas reserves in the Arctic seas. The capacity and knowledge established in Nordic countries (Norway, Finland) concerning cruise tourism should not be underestimated and the already functioning cooperation in Barents Region should expand towards this particular segment of the tourism industry. The current stage of economic development in Russia makes it clear that tourism development is not able to compete with the well-needed increase in the cargo transportation, which means that Russia’s fleet is going to be utilised by other industries. However, opening up this area to both local and international visitors could contribute to the economic prosperity of these remote areas and if carefully managed could sustain already existing maritime cities along the shores of the Arctic Ocean.

Освоение и развитие Арктических территорий России неразрывно связано с аспектом первооткрывательства и преодоления. Суровые природные условия северного края всегда как казалось, противоречили самому присутствию здесь женщины. Это становится особенно заметным при знакомстве с обстоятельствами проведения самых известных арктических экспедиций, состоявшихся в советский период освоения Севера. Вот, например, известнейшая эпопея экспедиции на пароходе «Семен Челюскин» (руководитель экспедиции О.Ю. Щмидт, капитан судна В.И.Воронин), перед которой была поставлена задача за одну навигацию пройти Северным морским путём. После гибели затёртого льдами парохода и героического спасения коллектива экспедиции имена челюскинцев стали известны всей стране. Любопытно, что в этом злополучном рейсе принимали участие   и женщины, в том числе и мама первого в мире ребенка, родившегося на пароходе в Карском море в честь которого девочку звали Кариной.

 Интересно оценить состояние современного информационного арктического пространства России по отношению к женщине, в особенности в условиях, когда большинство программ социально-экономического развития заточены на необходимость активного развития туристского сектора. Этот аспект развития индустрии туризма в Арктике, можно сказать, ещё не изучен. Развитие сферы услуг диктует необходимость активного вовлечения женщин в туризм в качестве основного рабочего агента. Однако в условиях Севера, туристические предложения официальных турфирм, явно не стремятся к активному привлечению женщин в качестве своих клиентов. Сознательно создается ли эта ситуация или она является логическим продолжением уже существующих традиций? Доклад, предлагаемый на ваше осуждение, посвящен более подробному описанию этого и ряда других вопросов связанных с общим имиджем Арктических регионов, создаваемым участниками туристической деятельности.

Challenges in the roles played by public and private sector organizations in the sustainable tourism development are identified for two of the Russian Arctic regions: Nenets Autonomous Okrug and Sakha Republic. A review on the existing institutional arrangements is made including the public sector (regional and local levels), private entrepreneurship, local communities and the ways the participatory decision-making process is promoted. The evaluation of the outcomes of the present institutional framework prove to be unbalanced in order to facilitate coordinated tourism development. Furthermore, the issues arising from the unclear institutional setting influencing the creation of an integrative system of tourism distribution channels. This situation weakens the roles played by all stakeholders and gives fewer incentives for the private businesses and local communities to be involved in the tourism development activities.

The Russian Arctic territory has a significant influence on Russia’s present socio-economic development. It is considered an important component of Russia’s economic future, which is connected to the utilisation of the natural wealth discovered there during the last decades. In addition, the Russian Arctic coast is also expected to become a vital transport route between Europe and Asia. In the outlines of the state policy of Russian Federation in Arctic until 2020, tourism is seen as a tool for the sustainable development of the local communities of the Arctic, which would make it possible to safeguard the indigenous cultural heritage, language and handcrafts. However, the plans concerning the implementation of these specific goals are less detailed. The last few years have been marked by a considerable increase in interest towards tourism development of this area. Furthermore, various stakeholders in this part of Russia have already engaged in this process, which has resulted in increased visitation to the area. This paper aims to identify these stakeholders, as well as to analyse the issues influencing the process of general tourism development in the Russian Arctic. This is achieved by re-evaluating the regional tourism planning processes and existing tourist products/profiles of the seven administrative units of the territory of the Russian Arctic from west to east. These are: Murmansk and Arkhangelsk Oblast (Nenets Autonomous Okrug), Jamal-Nenets Autonomous Okrug, Taymyr Dolgano-Nenets Municipal Rayon (Krasnoyarsk Krai), Sakha Republic, and Chukotka Autonomous Okrug.Although these territories possess unique natural and cultural characteristics that are suitable for the development of distinctive tourism products, this potential has either not been utilised or has been under-utilised. The analysis identified the clear losers and the leaders in this process. The situation often depends on the level of the engagement of the public administration, cooperation among the tourism providers, as well as private companies within the natural resource extraction sector. The system of integrated planning within the tourism sector, as well as deepening collaboration among the involved stakeholders are important conditions for a successful implementation of the desired tourism development, especially when it comes to indigenous tourism product development.

The northernmost Swedish province of Norbotten has being a subject for boom and bust development cycles of mining industry over several decades. During these times, companies have started massive prospecting campaigns, opened up new mines and re-opened older mines that had been closed for years, and increased production in already existing mines. The mining industry has left its legacy both in the form of immaterial and material remains. This paper focuses on an analysis of the complexities of the present day situation in the mining area of Gällivarre and the adjacent Jokkmokk Municipalities. The problems connected with the postindustrial futures, specifically in reference to the tourism development in this area, are discussed here. Indigenous and non-indigenous tourism entrepreneurs active in these two localities are asked to reflect on their relationship to industrial activities in the area (mining, hydro/wind power production, etc.). Discussion circles around social and cultural barriers between these two groups and the wider society. The stories told by the entrepreneurs represent a range of individual and collectively constructed notions of the present and future development of this area showing a contested vision. Tourism development in the region is showing fragmented/disruptive patterns confined to actions taken by either individual entrepreneurs or small groups that collaborate in the creation of experiences. The issues of every day racism towards Sami population, mistrust towards authorities on one hand and community and cultural identity revival with the help of individual entrepreneurial efforts on the other hand support the contested notion of the current development in the area, heavily influenced by the on-going and future industrial development projects.

Remote areas of the Russian Arctic has being increasingly utilized as pleasure peripheries for the more affluent residents of the Russian urban areas during the past decade of the 2000s. Even previously closed military settlements along the coast of the Barents and Kara Seas are now being open to the tourists. The study is based on the qualitative analysis of the experiences of two tourist companies specializing on the development of the adventure tourism experiences. The participants shared their stories on how the representatives of local political elite are trying to oppose themselves to the changing realities of the tourism development. The arguments put forward by the local residents are, however, in favor of this development claiming that tourists’ visits represent a necessary addition to their ordinary life and as one of the forces for further revitalization of the service provision and facilities that would benefit local community at first place. These opposing views should be taken into account in order to develop a strategy allowing the consolidation of the stakeholders’ viewpoints. Another serious concern, is the absence of the functioning system for the community planning that is both socially and environmentally sensitive. The reliance on nature as the source for the adventure tourism development needs to be reconsidered and adjusted to the pressures of changing climate and realities of every-day life of the Arctic rural communities.

World Heritage sites (WHS) are often regarded as preservation projects aimed at preserving valuable natural and cultural heritage. Lately these sites have been re-evaluated as being important arenas for experience based production. This development raises important questions regarding the commodification process of heritage. Planners need to decide what artefacts, milieus and stories to include and decide how they should be related to each other in a meaningful way. These processes are complex and involve stakeholders from different planning organizations. 

The study utilises an example from destination development connected to the WHS in Falun, Sweden. Preliminary results show that initial focus in the establishing phase of the WHS has been driven by preservation goals. This focus has often leads to the hampering of commercial initiatives. Experience based products are always dependent on strong interpretation. The interpretation has to be done in a way to connect the visitor in sensuous and imaginative ways to the heritage. This has not been in the innitial  focus of the development in this particular case. One of the reasons for this lies in the criteria set up by UNESCO, which focuses on preservation and education. In a situation where preservation prevail there is often no space left to incorporate tourism industry’s concerns. 

Освоение и развитие Арктических территорий России неразрывно связано с аспектом первооткрывательства и преодоления. Суровые природные условия северного края всегда как казалось, противоречили самому присутствию здесь женщины. Это становится особенно заметным при знакомстве с обстоятельствами проведения самых известных арктических экспедиций, состоявшихся в советский период освоения Севера. Вот, например, известнейшая эпопея экспедиции на пароходе «Семен Челюскин» (руководитель экспедиции О.Ю. Щмидт, капитан судна В.И.Воронин), перед которой была поставлена задача за одну навигацию пройти Северным морским путём. После гибели затёртого льдами парохода и героического спасения коллектива экспедиции имена челюскинцев стали известны всей стране. Любопытно, что в этом злополучном рейсе принимали участие   и женщины, в том числе и мама первого в мире ребенка, родившегося на пароходе в Карском море в честь которого девочку звали Кариной.

 Интересно оценить состояние современного информационного арктического пространства России по отношению к женщине, в особенности в условиях, когда большинство программ социально-экономического развития заточены на необходимость активного развития туристского сектора. Этот аспект развития индустрии туризма в Арктике, можно сказать, ещё не изучен. Развитие сферы услуг диктует необходимость активного вовлечения женщин в туризм в качестве основного рабочего агента. Однако в условиях Севера, туристические предложения официальных турфирм, явно не стремятся к активному привлечению женщин в качестве своих клиентов. Сознательно создается ли эта ситуация или она является логическим продолжением уже существующих традиций? Доклад, предлагаемый на ваше осуждение, посвящен более подробному описанию этого и ряда других вопросов связанных с общим имиджем Арктических регионов, создаваемым участниками туристической деятельности.