TOURISM DEVELOPMENT, SUSTAINABILITY AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES Case studies from Finnish Lapland

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1 TOURISM DEVELOPMENT, SUSTAINABILITY AND LOCAL COMMUNITIES Case studies from Finnish Lapland Seija Tuulentie D.Soc.Sc., senior researcher Finnish Forest Research Institute INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM ON SUSTAINABLE TOURISM DEVELOPMENT Quebec,17th March 2009 / Metsäntutkimuslaitos Skogsforskningsinstitutet Finnish Forest Research Institute

2 Basic issues What is the role of tourism in rural change in remote northern regions? What happens to the local communities in the context of tourism? Who has got a say in tourism development? How can local knowledge be better utilized in tourism sector?

3 Sustainability of tourism in remote regions Tourism is relatively more important in peripheral rural areas than in cities Underdevelopment is positive as far as tourism is concerned In Finland, tourism is more important to Lapland than to other provinces In many regions, tourist enterprises are practically the only employers in private sector The idea of sustainability is nowadays an integral part of differents strategies but three rhetorical problems exist: 1) The concept remains unspecified, 2) it is used to justify a wide range of contradictory issues or 3) sustainability may be seen as a narrow issue related only to e.g. national parks In sustainability discourse, ecological issues are recognized and economic issues seem to be important but social and cultural issues are seldom addressed

4 Tourism is important for Finnish Lapland Our recent research projects Tourist destinations as landscape laboratories: Tools for sustainable tourism EU Life Environment project Coordinator: Arctic Centre, University of Lapland Sustainable Use of Forests in Northern Lapland Coordinator: Finnish Forest Research Institute show that local communities benefit from tourism sector both in terms of economy and demography

5 Research areas: 1) EU Life Environment project

6 180,00 160,00 140,00 120,00 100,00 80,00 60,00 Kittilä Sirkka Köngäs Kolari Ylläsjärvi Äkäslompolo Seutukunta 40,00 20,00 0, Tourist centres have increased their population while other parts of municipalities are losing residents: The change in population numbers since 1985 in tourist centres and municipal centres in Kittilä and Kolari

7 2) Sustainable use of forests in Northern Lapland = Sámi home region

8 Economic importance of nature-based sources of livelihood for the local economy in Inari (Pirkonen 2005) Branch Total output M Total output (gross) M Employment man-yr Gross employment man-yr Reindeer husbandry Metsähallitus, forestry Private forestry Wood industry Metsähallitus, Natural Heritage Services Tourism

9 Tourist resorts consist of three structures: rural, urban and wilderness linkki How are these spheres combined in an actual destination? Does one of them dominate? linkki linkki

10 Rural village and countryside with traditional livelihoods

11 Tourist resorts with urban structures

12 Wilderness areas as resource for tourism and villages

13 Social sustainability in focus Social (and cultural) sustainability issues Continuity Regional, local and ethnic identities Employment Dwelling conditions Quality of life The possibility of local people to participate in decision-making Social sustainability is in many ways intertwined with environmental and economic dimensions

14 Participation as a prerequisite for sustainability Although sustainability can refer to a variety of issues, in our study the possibility to participate was regarded as the most important (Tuulentie 2007) Why should local people be involved? Local knowledge Prevention of conflict Democracy Who should be involved? Increasing mobility - does local community exist? Increase in interest groups Differences in abilities to participate (time, education, expertise) What effects participation has? Without concrete effects hearings are useless

15 Experiences of participation in the ski resorts in Finnish Lapland (three phases; cf. Butler 1980, 1993) Exploration and involvement (approx. 1930s onwards) Home accommodation Close host-guest relations Very small local enterprises Development (approx. 1960s onwards) Tourism escaped from local hands especially in 1980s Paradoxically, the recession of the early 1990s restored close interaction for a while: wide negotiations between different parties Consolidation (approx. 1990s onwards) The pace of change is still so fast that locals feel powerless: everything just appears Tourism offers work but it also makes living in the villages difficult : land too valuable for the villagers Feeling of undemocratic planning, big hopes for new Finnish legislation for land-use and construction (2000)

16 Tools to strenghten community cohesion Development of the preconditions for participation: According to our survey and focus group interviews, local residents would like to have new kinds of local advisory committees or such to make participation easier Possibility to have a say from the beginning of planning processes The question of trust: lack of confidence due to bad experiences in the past planning projects is quite common More interaction between different groups: Seasonal tourism workers need to be attached to the local community In some villages, second home owners have their own associations co-operation with the locals needed Tourist activities remain strange for the locals possibilities to be acquinted with the tourism sphere have been created

17 An example of an attempt to put sustainability into practice: Finnish Forest and Park Service s sustainable nature tourism principles 1. Natural values are preserved and all activities promote nature conservation 2. The environment is subjected to as little pressure as possible 3. Local traditions and cultures are respected 4. Visitors increase their understanding and appreciation of nature and cultures 5. Improved recreational facilities are provided for visitors 6. Visitors are encouraged to enjoy both mental and physical recreation 7. Local economies and employment are promoted 8. Publicity materials are produced responsibly and carefully 9. Activities are planned and organised co-operatively > natural heritage > protected areas > sustainable nature tourism

18 Conclusions Nature tourism destinations in Lapland as well as in many other remote regions are exceptional places They combine urban structures with rural communities and use wilderness areas as places of consumption instead of former productive use In this regard, municipal representative decision-making is not enough Tourism is extremely important for the villages but, in spite of that, conflicts have arisen and will arise Participatory practices have to be developed as local communities and cultures are part of tourism product unspoilt nature is an important tourist attraction image matters in tourism business Participatory processes have to be credible Important to notice that even the smalliest communities consist of people with different interests

19 Thank you! Questions? Comments?