Developing Culturally Sensitive Sámi Tourism in Finnish Lapland - Sámi Entrepreneurs' Perspective

• Main Author: Yli-Olli, Veera
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: 2021
• Subjects: Experience design; fi=Matkailu|sv=Turism|en=Tourism|; tourism; Lapland; indigenous peoples; cultural tourism; Sami culture; Degree Programme in Tourism; Arctic; sami; Sámi
• Online Access: http://www.theseus.fi/handle/10024/512375

The aim of the thesis was to discover Sámi tourism entrepreneurs’ perspective on culturally sensitive Sámi tourism development, as well as the effects of previously implemented development actions on their business operations. Tourist interest in indigenous peoples is constantly increasing. Although this phenomenon may bring especially economic benefits for indigenous peoples, issues concerning cultural sensitivity within the industry are not uncommon. Therefore, it is becoming increasingly more important to consider these issues in Sámi tourism development. The commissioner of this thesis is the ARCTISEN project, which focuses on the culturally sensitive development of tourism in the Arctic. The qualitative research approach was chosen for the research in order to observe the issue from a humanistic perspective. More specifically, the semi-structured interview method was utilised due to its structured yet flexible nature. In total, four Sámi tourism entrepreneurs were interviewed for the purposes of the research. The results suggest that focusing on individual tourism, encouraging Sámi people to engage in tourism by the example of the existing Sámi entrepreneurs, and collaboration between different Sámi stakeholders were considered important tools to develop culturally sensitive Sámi tourism. Furthermore, the development actions implemented so far have not significantly affected Sámi entrepreneurs’ business operations. Although the state of cultural sensitivity in Sámi tourism in Finnish Lapland has improved during the past decades, there is still room for improvement. Due to the issue’s multidimensional nature, it is important to consider several different perspectives in development actions, which may prove to be challenging. However, it is evident that the Sámi parliament and Sámi tourism providers share the same goal of working towards a more ethical, sustainable, and culturally sensitive tourism industry.