Stakeholders' Perspective of Sustainability in an Arctic Region: a Qualitative Study

• Joseph S. Chen ^[1] ; Colin Johnson ^[2] ; Wei Wang ^[1] ; Ya-Ling Chen ^[1]
  1. [1] Indiana University Bloomington

     Indiana University Bloomington

     Township of Bloomington, Estados Unidos

     
  2. [2] San Francisco State University

     San Francisco State University

     Estados Unidos

     
• Localización: Tourism analysis, ISSN 1083-5423, Vol. 19, Nº. 1, 2014, págs. 85-96
• Idioma: inglés
• Texto completo no disponible (Saber más ...)
• Resumen

  • This research evaluates perspectives towards sustainable management among key groups of tourism stakeholders including tourism businesses, local residents, and tourists themselves. The extant literature is largely composed of quantitative studies using descriptive and regressive statistical methods along with structural modeling to highlight significant issues affecting sustainability. In contrast, this study takes a qualitative approach in an attempt to garner rich insights not always obtained from quantitative studies. The study setting is a Norwegian Arctic region, Finnmark, which is considered one of the most visited Arctic destinations in Europe. In total 68 in-depth interviews and three focus group surveys are conducted, involving tourists, tourism professionals, and local residents in several cities and towns in the Finnmark region. This study finds that participants all agree environmental and cultural issues are the key considerations in sustaining tourism development in the region. Furthermore, tourism businesses are inclined to advocate eco-friendly agendas in compliance with the concept of sustainability. Moreover, concerning stakeholders' recommendations toward sustainable practices, this research notices that implementation of educational policies is vital for the success of sustainable practices. Relevance implications and suggestions for future study are provided in the conclusion section.