Jarkko Saarinen

‘Destinations in change’ The transformation process of tourist destinations

Tourism studies have for a long time been interested in tourist destinations, their identity and the changes occurring in them. In view of the ‘spatialization of social theory’ and the past discussions on locality studies in human geography, this article seeks to contribute to our understanding of research into tourist destinations and their changes. The article focuses on the conceptual nature of tourist destination and especially the processes transforming the idea of a destination, its representations and physical character as a subject of research. Tourist destinations are seen as dynamic, historical units with specific identities characterized by hegemonic and other discourses, which all produce a notion of what the destination is and represents at the time. However, there is not just one idea or discourse of destination at the time but several, possibly even conflicting ones, which emphasizes the need to consider the ethical aspects of tourism development in research.

The Regional Economics of Tourism in Northern Finland: The Socio-economic Implications of Recent Tourism Development and Future Possibilities for Regional Development

In Finland and other Nordic countries the economic and political significance of tourism for regional development has increased considerably in recent years, to the extent that in some regions it has become a crucial economic policy factor. Tourism is commonly looked on as having a favourable economic and social impact, introducing new, external sources of monetary income and opportunities to work in the regional economy and its operational cycle. Large amounts of public money are being spent nowadays on the development of tourism in the various regions of Finland. This paper discusses the role of tourism in regional economic and social development and provides an overview of the recent tourism development in northern Finland and its socio-economic implications. Examples of the economic and employment impact of tourism at the regional level are taken from an evaluation of the economic role of tourism in selected municipalities in northern Finland, by utilizing the so-called Nordic model for evaluating the regional and local tourism economy.

Tourism, climate change and adaptation: a review

The relationship between tourism and changing climate has been discussed and studied for a relatively long time in tourism research. Over the past 15 years, more focused studies have begun to appear, and especially recently, the issue of adaptation has been emphasised as an urgent research need in tourism and climate change studies. This paper is based on a systematic review of the tourism and adaptation literature prior to 2012. It discusses adaptation challenges, the dimensions of vulnerability in a tourism context and the implications of such studies on communities. By dividing the current adaptation studies into business; consumer; destination; and policy- and framework-focused theme areas and traditions, the paper concludes that adaptation studies in tourism have so far had a limited focus on community perceptions, which in general has been an area of major interest in tourism research. More emphasis on community-based research in relation to tourism and climate change allows highly contextual adaptation challenges to be met in a more sustainable way.

Sustainable Tourism Planning and Regional Development in Peripheries: A Nordic View

In a declining periphery, tourism is often considered as a vehicle for regional development due to the positive economic impacts of the industry. However, tourism is not automatically the best saviour for all peripheral areas, because it can also cause some negative impacts. Therefore, sustainable planning is needed to balance the benefits and costs of tourism. The aim of this review is to discuss how to develop the tourism industry in order to create positive regional development in the peripheral areas in the Nordic context. The paper presents two approaches to the tourism planning and regional development nexus: the tourism‐centred and regional development‐centred. However, the structure of the regional economy and the tourism resources of the area set limitations for the application of these basic approaches in practice. In this respect, the proposed spatio‐functional model would be an option to increase the positive regional development at the local level in a sustainable way. The model emphasizes a functional collaboration between industries in the core‐periphery framework.

Making wilderness: tourism and the history of the wilderness idea in Iceland

Abstract The notion of wilderness is often associated with high latitudes. This paper focuses on the historical and cultural processes that construct the wilderness idea in Iceland.Throughout the centuries histories have mirrored the feelings and opinions toward the wild and dangerous. These include the sagas and folktales about outlaws and supernatural beings in the Icelandic Highlands. Despite its harsh nature occasionally travelers did visit. However, in early times few knew the wilderness from personal experience but all had heard stories about it and contributed to its social construction. Later when more scientific knowledge was collected, the stories changed and a new meaning was created for the Highlands. Tourism led to a new commodified image that attracted more and more travelers to the Highlands, both Icelandic and foreign visitors. However, present contestation between different forms of wilderness use as well as new sets of visitor demands are leading to the construction of new understanding of the nature of the Icelandic wilderness.

Tourism and the Millennium Development Goals: perspectives beyond 2015

As 2015 approaches, debates about the contribution to the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UN MDGs) are growing in momentum. The aim of this review is to interrogate the potential contributions of tourism to the UN MDGs, specifically of poverty alleviation, and of how the relationship between tourism development and the UN MDGs has been framed in existing scholarship. It is argued that whilst the global tourism industry potentially can contribute to economic development goals in destination regions, its impacts are ambivalent so that there is a growing concern surrounding the local benefits of global tourism including support for realisation of the UN MDGs. To avert the risks in the Global South of tourism-led development, the industry needs to be clearly positioned as a potential tool for, not at the end of local, regional, national and global development agendas. Several promising research avenues for interrogating tourism impacts for UN MDGs are identified. Issues relating to greening of tourism, inclusive business models and backward linkages offer a powerful policy-relevant agenda for tourism scholarship to move forward our understanding of the UN MDG objectives, which were originally set down in 2000, beyond 2015.

Polar Tourism: Definitions and Dimensions

Abstract Polar regions are attracting more public, political, economic and scientific attention than ever before, with the role of tourism becoming increasingly recognised. Tourism activities are still relatively new in polar settings with the role of tourism primarily seen as highly beneficial with a capacity to contribute to socio‐economic development, especially in the Arctic. However, the growth in tourism is also regarded by some commentators as potentially damaging to the polar environments, especially when combined with the effects of climate change. Yet in order to understand future change it is important that past and present tourism numbers can be benchmarked. The purpose of this paper is to discuss the definitions and dimensions of tourism in polar regions and how the term polar tourism can be understood. The paper aims to define polar tourism in a manner that is consistent with that of international tourism statistics in order to identify gaps in our knowledge base. Based on the existing statistics and overview of current levels of tourism in polar regions it is indicated that the number of visitors to high latitudes is already substantial, especially in the Arctic, and is continuing to grow.

Transforming Tourism Spaces in Changing Socio-Political Contexts: The Case of Pärnu, Estonia, as a Tourist Destination

Abstract The need to understand tourist destinations and their change has grown considerably in past decades, and this has become an especially relevant matter with respect to destinations located in the transition economies of Central and Eastern Europe, where international tourism and tourists are increasingly becoming characteristic features of the changing societies. This paper aims to analyse the historical transformation process of the town of Pärnu, Estonia. The local manifestations of wider socio-political contexts and changes are discussed and a narrative is provided of the transformation of Pärnu as a destination. This transformation has been characterized by changing periods of development and reorientation, which have created specific, complex socio-spatial constructions. Based on the changing contexts and their socio-spatial manifestations, the transformation and touristic identity of Pärnu is divided into four historically contingent periods, which are further discussed in relation to path-dependent and path-creative perspectives.

Local tourism awareness: Community views in Katutura and King Nehale Conservancy, Namibia

In Namibia the tourism industry is increasingly used for socioeconomic development. Recent government policies have highlighted the role of community-based tourism in particular, a policy tool that aims to ensure that local communities can participate actively in tourism and have a fairly high degree of control over tourism development and practices, so as to recognise and receive the benefits of tourism. For this to happen, local people need to know about tourism, tourists and the impacts of tourism in their daily environment. This paper discusses community views and local tourism awareness in two case study communities in Namibia: Katutura, in Windhoek, and King Nehale Conservancy. It concludes that making local communities aware of tourism could help them become agents in tourism development, rather than objects as is still often the case in peripheral and marginalised rural and urban communities in southern Africa.

Using indicators to assess sustainable tourism development: a review.

The aim of this paper is to examine the role of indicators in the transition to sustainability in tourism development and planning, identifying their main characteristics and summarising the challenges posed by their use in tourism development and in the research field. Indicators today constitute significant elements in sustainability programmes, but their use has been hampered by technical and conceptual difficulties. Furthermore, given that specific socio-spatial contexts and scales are highly influential in their application in the field, there is a need to identify the nature and characteristics of these indicators of sustainable tourism. After the in-depth development of a theoretical and phenomenological framework for indicators in tourism sector based on literature review, some interesting findings were identified. Indicators of sustainability have been widely adopted in tourism planning and management, and the indicator type (set or index) is selected depending on the situation under analysis and the purpose underpinning the study. In general, a set of indicators may prove more useful and accurate for assessing sustainability in one tourism destination, while an index may be better suited for comparing different spatial units. However, indicator effectiveness to achieve the ideals of sustainable tourism development is affected by the ambiguity in the definition of the concept of sustainable tourism and problems associated with data availability and baseline knowledge. The main challenge is to overcome strategic guidelines and political and theoretical proposals of indicators and achieve practical applications for the sustainable development of tourism. It is in this regard that innovations and knowledge transfer have been stressed, albeit that the nature of this knowledge remains the key.