Tourism is an important, growing industry in all the Nordic countries, but until recently, it has not had a particularly strong focus within the Nordic cooperation framework. This is changing rapidly, and the Nordic Council of Ministers has given a strong signal that increased emphasis should be placed on tourism issues within the Nordic framework. This project is a result of that important political prioritisation. The key objective of this project is to create a framework on which a Nordic Tourism Strategy can be established. Thus, the desired outcome of the project is to define future strategies and projects that will underscore common opportunities and challenges within Nordic tourism. The objective of a Nordic Tourism Policy Analysis is to provide valuable input to each country's work within tourism as well as laying a foundation for a common Nordic Tourism Policy.

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2023-519/ Covid-19 pandemic was a shock to the tourism industry in the Nordic countries. Loss of international tourism – both inbound and outbound – due to the Covid-19 related restrictions forced tourism enterprises and development organisations to adapt their products and services to meet the needs of domestic travellers. This report examines the domestic tourism sector, its significance and future in the Nordic countries, autonomous areas and in selected border regions between the Nordic countries and investigates practical examples of measures taken during the crisis. According to the results, the pandemic served as an eye-opener to the significance of domestic tourism in the Nordic countries and autonomous areas and the future of domestic tourism is generally seen as positive. However, tourism sector developers must work together to realise the full potential of domestic tourism market.

This book provides an in-depth examination of the growing Asian tourism market and consumption in Arctic destinations. Through five parts, the book covers Asian mobilities consumption as an extension of Arctic international politics, the transportation sector and green cruise tourism, and ethnicity, culture, and history. It contributes to further understanding of the impacts of increased tourism in these polar regions by exploring climate change, debates around emerging economies and global power roles in the political, socio-economic, security and legal issues of the Arctic and Antarctic and associated polar strategies and policy. By drawing on a range of disciplines and with contributions from experts in Arctic destinations or who are associated with the Arctic, it further provides a holistic framing of emerging demand and mobility patterns of Asian tourists in a polar context. Asian Mobilities Consumption in a Changing Arctic will be valuable reading for students and academics across the fields of tourism, economics, sustainability, development studies as well as other social science disciplines.

The Routledge Handbook of Small Towns addresses the theoretical, methodical, and practical issues related to the development of small towns and neighbouring countryside. Small towns play a very important role in spatial structure by performing numerous significant developmental functions for rural areas. At the local scale, they act as engines for economic growth of rural regions and as a link in the system of connections between large urban centres and the countryside. The book addresses the role of small towns in the local development of regions in countries with different levels of development and economic systems, including those in Europe, Africa, South America, Asia, and Australia. Chapters address the functional structure of small towns, relations between small towns and rural areas, and the challenges of spatial planning in the context of shaping the development of small towns. Students and scholars of urban planning, urban geography, rural geography, political geography, historical geography, and population geography will learn about the role of small towns in the local development of countries representing different economic systems and developmental conditions.

Viewed through a politico-economic lens, Nordic countries share what is often referred to as the ‘Nordic model’, characterised by a comprehensive welfare state; higher spending on childcare; more equitable income distribution; and lifelong-learning policies. This edited collection considers these contexts to explore the complex nature of tourism employment, thereby providing insights into the dynamic nature, characteristics, and meaning of work in tourism. Contributors combine explorations of the impact of policy on tourism employment with a more traditional human resources management approach focusing on employment issues from an organizational perspective, such as job satisfaction, training, and retention. The text points to opportunities as well as challenges relating to issues such as the notion of ‘decent work’, the role and contribution of migrant workers, and more broadly, the varying policy objectives embedded within the Nordic welfare model. Offering a detailed, multi-faceted analysis of tourism employment, this book is a valuable resource for students, researchers and practitioners interested in tourism employment in the region.

Tourism and Entrepreneurship: International Perspectives provides an innovative, interdisciplinary approach. This book takes as its central theme the role of entrepreneurship in the context of regional, local and national tourism development. By engaging with top academics in both tourism and entrepreneurship this book delivers a cohesive, interdisciplinary examination of the most recent developments in both tourism and entrepreneurship. Several key themes are explored and articulated through the following concepts and issues: tourism, innovation and entrepreneurship; the role and nature of individual and collective entrepreneurship in different contexts; the role of tourism in responding to development opportunities created by global forces; and finally, issues associated with tourism strategies and policies. Divided into four parts, the book reflects on the most relevant areas of tourism entrepreneurship: * Understanding the conceptual basis of tourism entrepreneurship * Creative use of entrepreneurship and processes of social innovation * Tourism entrepreneurship mediating the global–local divide * Sectoral strategies and policy issues of tourism entrepreneurship Tourism and Entrepreneurship: International Perspective: * Explains the impact of tourism entrepreneurship on places and overall regional and destination development * Examines the role of the public sector in facilitating the need for sustainable tourism development * Examines the effects and implications of funding schemes and support programmes * Takes the owner, manager and entrepreneur as the starting point of analysis to explore specific issues * Allows practitioners and policy-makers to explore practical applications and best practice of theory through a diverse range of international case studies * Contributed to by an international team of leading scholars in tourism and entrepreneurship This book is a unique combination of theory, case studies and discussion highlighting the importance of entrepreneurial tourism activity for economic success. It is essential reading for students and researchers in both tourism and entrepreneurship.

Ideal for researchers and students of ecotourism, this text comprehensively describes, analyses and evaluates aspects of Scandanavian ecotourism.

Recently, the Nordic countries have experienced a rapid growth in numbers of visitors. At some popular nature attractions this has resulted in crowding, environmental damage, costly rescue operations and overload on public infrastructure. Implementation of economic policy instruments have hence been suggested to secure a more sustainable development. While the applicability of e.g. entrance fees is restricted by the public rights of access, economic instruments tend to represent short-sighted solutions. Sustainable development requires holistic policies, which take environmental, social and economic aspects into consideration in a long-term perspective. To achieve a more sustainable development of tourism, it is suggested that a limited use of economic instrument should take place in combination with adaptive management strategies and available legal and administrative instruments.

Tourism is an increasingly important industry in the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) that is integral to economic, social and sustainable development. Nordic Tourism is the first comprehensive and accessible introduction to tourism in the region and also includes case studies from leading Nordic researchers on specific destinations, attractions, resources, concepts and issues.