Lusine Margaryan

This paper provides a review of research in nature-based tourism in the Nordic region, discuss it from an international viewpoint and provide an outlook for the future research agenda. To do this, we analyze the Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism for papers focusing on nature-based tourism from 2010 to 2020, as well as 29 key textbooks representing international scholarship within the last decade. We argue there has been an increase in the number of studies looking at nature-based tourism from the supply side, especially about destination development, lifestyle entrepreneurship and the role of guides. We also notice that many research questions are raised from practical needs, while more theoretically oriented research is rather limited. The international call for new, bold theoretical outlooks, the need to reimagine and fundamentally transform human-nature relationships towards sustainability and co-existence remains relevant for the Nordic context in the future.

This article contributes to understanding migration and integration experiences of privileged intra-EU migrant entrepreneurs termed “lifestyle expat-preneurs” by discussing the role of rural entrepreneurship in the processes of integration into sparsely populated rural areas, as exemplified by the Dutch tourism entrepreneurs in northern Sweden. Specifically, this article focuses on campground entrepreneurship, a sub-segment of rural tourism lacking much academic research. Findings demonstrate the experiences of intra-EU lifestyle expat-preneurs are absent from currently dominating theoretical, as well as political, discourses on migration and integration. The article concludes arguing campground entrepreneurship is a powerful catalyst of lifestyle migration, but the very nature of this business is an inhibiting, rather than supporting factor, for rural community integration.

Cultural ecosystem services (CES) are important spatial elements providing humans with recreational, aesthetic, spiritual and other benefits. Yet, because of their immaterial, subjective, qualitative and unmeasurable nature, this means that scientists, decision-makers and general public often find their value difficult to grasp. We enrich the CES approach with theoretical insights from humanist geography, where we frame CES as arising from perpetual interactions between humans and their environment. Places are formed through various processes, both organic and planned, which endow people with unique identities, experiences, capabilities, knowledge and skills. We use the rural wetland area of Lake Hornborga, Sweden, with its complex history of restoration phases, to explore the profound interrelations between environmental spaces and cultural practices expressed in the everyday activities of learning, playing, creating, caring, producing, and consuming. The data was collected through qualitative methods, including interviews, observations and a focused group interview, in order to capture these unique senses and experiences. The findings outline CES as key drivers behind the formation of place, rather than mere labels for inventorying benefits people receive from nature. The presence of the iconic migratory crane is especially conducive to a positive sense of place and the practice of various activities, including tourism, around the wetland. We frame the implications for planning and future research of our findings within a context of ethics.

This paper investigates the factors associated with the (non)adoption of eco-certification among the nature-based tourism companies in the Scandinavian region. Previous research suggested that the popularity of tourism eco-certification schemes remained limited in the region due to socio-cultural, historical and other specifics. We revisit this query a decade later with the support of nation-wide data from two Scandinavian countries – Norway and Sweden. The quantitative results suggest that such factors as motivations for operating a nature-based tourism business, beliefs about eco-certification effects, economic and demographic characteristics, are associated with the eco-certification adoption. Qualitative insights shed more light on the existing barriers for this sustainability approach in the region. The results suggest that companies with strong beliefs in the positive context (i.e. beliefs that eco-certification is capable to generate higher income, more customers and provide marketing advantage), lifestyle and sustainability-oriented business goals together with favorable organizational context (larger size, higher income and having a female leader) are more likely to invest in an eco-certification scheme.

Tourism companies that offer wildlife watching experiences share a unique property—they build their business on a promise they have no guarantee of fulfilling (showing wild animals). The factor of luck becomes important, as evident in the advertisement texts of wildlife watching tours. Understanding commercialization of uncontrollable natural phenomena (wild animals) in a similarly uncertain natural setting (wilderness) is the aim of our article. In this illustrative case study, we examine wildlife watching companies in Sweden, focusing on free ranging bear, moose, wolf, roe-deer, beaver, and seal. Through interviews and participant observations with eight wildlife watching entrepreneurs, we elaborate on the following major themes that help understand specific challenges associated with these businesses: lack of control as an inherent property of wildlife watching tourism, agency and continuous negotiation of uncertainties within the operational setting, importance of guide performances and “secondary” experiences, and using uncertainty as a way of enhancing authenticity.

This paper investigates how outdoor recreation demand is reflected in the commercial tourism supply. This exploratory study brings together the demand and the supply perspectives as well as the domestic and international dimensions of outdoor recreation. The data is collected through a nationwide survey among nature-based tourism providers, catering to both domestic and international markets in Sweden. Four major data-driven avenues of commercializing outdoor recreation are discussed: Winter/Nordic, Summer/Active, Summer/Relaxing and Extractive. The findings offer a new insight into the patters of the commercial supply of nature-based tourism in Sweden, while also building on the previous research and history of outdoor recreation. Evident commercial importance and domestic popularity of such ordinary outdoor activities as cycling on roads, swimming, jogging, picnicking or hiking outside mountain areas are linked to changes in leisure and lifestyles noticed previously. Commercialization of outdoor recreation, a snapshot of which is presented in this study, is discussed as an ever-expanding and diversifying process, observed both in Sweden and globally.

This study analyses variations in the operational setting in the context of nature-based tourism (NBT) and draws much needed attention to the supply side of this sector by segmenting the NBT service providers based on their setting preferences. This paper focuses on the setting of NBT as an important alternative avenue for understanding the operational context of NBT supply. This approach is subsequently empirically explored through a national survey among the NBT service providers in Sweden. The data analysis demonstrates that the companies can be rather clearly clustered based on the variations in the perceived importance and impact of NBT setting components. This study therefore helps in understanding the role of a commercial setting in explaining NBT supply, which has a potential to not only contribute to developing the research of this sector further but also help in avoiding possible conflicts with other natural resource users and improve its overall management.

Nature-based tourism is often perceived as one of the easiest and readily-available tools for regional development and diversification of rural economies, and Sweden is not an exception. Successful tourism development, however, depends on various amenities, which vary with region. This article, based on a national survey among nature-based tourism service providers in Sweden, discusses general characteristic of Swedish nature-based tourism supply, reveals the most important natural amenities from the supply perspective and discusses the patterns of their regional variation. It is further investigated how distributions of various amenities is related to the density of nature-based tourism operations across regions. The scope of the analysis includes three levels: country, land and county. Results show that nature-based tourism in Sweden is a highly diversified sector, which demonstrates significant north-south variations, visible on the level of the three lands. On the level of counties, natural and human-made amenities are comparable in their power to predict distribution of NBT operations, suggesting that the border between NBT and other forms of tourism is not as distinct as is often imagined.

This dissertation contributes to developing knowledge on the
commercialization of natural resources through tourism. This is achieved by means of understanding the main avenues through which natural resources are commercialized, and analyzing the operational setting of tourism firms. The focal area is nature-based tourism– a type of tourism, taking place in comparatively unmodified natural areas, which has emerged as a powerful gravitational force, integrating an increasing variety of natural resources into the commercial domain. The point of departure is the assumption that for nature-based tourism firms, nature is simultaneously the main object of commercialization and the operational setting, where this commercialization happens. The attention here is, therefore, on the supply side, i.e. on the small and micro firms, acting as the agents of commercialization. The empirical data come primarily from a nation-wide survey among the nature-based tourism firms in Sweden, generating the most comprehensive information about this sector to date. Additional data come from in-depth interviews and observations among the nature-based tourism firms in Sweden, as well as secondary sources (official statistics on natural resources and a survey in Norway).

This is a compilation thesis, i.e. it consists of a cover essay and five individual papers. The cover essay offers a bird’s eye view on all the papers, frames them theoretically and synthesizes all the findings into a coherent contribution. Papers I and II create the foundation, necessary for understanding the processes of nature commercialization and the operational setting of naturebased tourism firms, while Papers III, IV and V provide supplementary insights into these areas of inquiry. Paper I starts by building on existing knowledge in outdoor recreation to approach nature-based tourism. Paper II focuses on the operational setting, conceptualizes and explores its dimensions. Building on this, Paper III looks at how the presence of various amenities in the operational setting can explain the localization patterns of the firms on various geographical levels. Paper IV focuses on the operational setting dimensions omitted in the previous papers, i.e. the continuous efforts of the firms to negotiate the inherent uncertainty within the setting. Finally, Paper V looks at various characteristics of nature-based tourism firms to
understand the specifics of sustainability strategies.

Heritage, Conservation and Communities is an edited book comprised of a collection of articles (19 in total) on the topic of public participation in heritage conservation processes. At the heart of this book is the importance of genuine community involvement in heritage conservation. The authors call for a renewed attention and rethinking of the concept of community, which has lost its traditional meaning in Western societies with the advance of modernity. Furthermore, despite an ongoing rhetoric of participation, the emergence of a genuine change in the predominantly top-down heritage conservation practice remains highly questionable. Notwithstanding some innovative approaches, the overall conservation practice remains a largely professionalized, expert-led domain. Surprising as it may seem, involvement of local communities did not gain much attention in heritage conservation up until the early 2000s, something that is repeatedly pointed out and problematized by multiple contributors to this volume. The new narrative of strong local communities, according to the authors, should shift from being associated with mere 'stakeholders' of heritage to becoming the key agents within the heritage conservation discourse. The authors also call for a new understanding of the conservation project itself, becoming the 'management of creative continuity and socially cohesive heritage practice' (p.2). Conservation, therefore, should shift from " conserving historic buildings' to 'helping to save the places people value and provide communities with much-needed facilities " (p.3). The importance of ensuring community ownership and involvement in heritage conservation practices is the common thread connecting all the chapters throughout this volume. The book is comprised of two parts: Part 1 deals with the several key approaches and principles to community engagement and capacity building, whereas Part 2 introduces practical insights from various case studies. Here it has to be emphasized that this is not a division into theoretical and practical parts, strictly speaking, since Part 1 is also full of practice-oriented case studies. In Part 1, Nigel Walter's theoretical chapter (p. 50) on the importance of narrative for meaningful public participation in heritage conservation is particularly noteworthy. Walter interrogates the challenging tension between modernity and tradition, which is at the very heart of conservation, and suggests turning to narrative frameworks as a possible way out. Narratives can be seen as 'dwelling-places' where people live, around which they weave their identities and engage with their material heritage. The narrative metaphor, as suggested by Walters, also allows for ongoing continuity and change in heritage conservation, in line with the main message of Heritage, Conservation and Communities. In Part 2, nine case studies are outlined, exploring inter alia the topics of reconnection with industrial heritage, volunteer support, preservation of built heritage, and innovative approaches to community engagement based on the examples from UK, India, Japan and Spain. The scientific contribution of Heritage, Conservation and Communities lies, first and foremost, in reviewing and summarizing rich practical experience in the field of heritage studies. The authors are primarily practitioners, who engage with the management of heritage conservation projects in the field, rather than from behind their desks. Much of the material comes from the work of UNESCO and its advisory bodies. In the context of the discussions emerging from Heritage, Conservation and Communities, it is safe to assume that there is a certain theoretical gap between the disciplines of heritage studies and human geography. Multiple contributors to this book engage in discussions concerning peoples' connection with the place they live in, and the relationships between place and identity. Along with this, however, the engagement with insights from the discipline of human geography, which has developed a rich body of theory on this topic, is largely lacking. In the discussion on community involvement in the context of North