Indigenous tourism destination development The case of Sami peoples in Sweden

• Main Author: Yamamoto, Rie
• Format: Other/Unknown Material
• Language: English
• Published: Lunds universitet/Internationella miljöinstitutet 2005
• Subjects: indigenous tourism; cultural sustainability; barriers; opportunities; Environmental studies; Miljöstudier; Earth and Environmental Sciences; sami
• Online Access: http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/1327691

Indigenous tourism is a vehicle of sustainable development for indigenous people. However, as the increase in the exposure to a westernized rationale along with tourism development, indigenous tourism development may result in the degradation of indigenous culture. The purpose of the thesis was to identify significant aspects of indigenous tourism especially focused upon cultural sustainability. The case of the Sami tourism in Sweden was chosen to apply the key factors for cultural sustainability to suggest future implications, by looking into the barriers and opportunities, the stakeholders involved, and the tools used for sustainable indigenous tourism. The study concluded that indigenous control, participation in decision making, administrative support, community support, and societal marketing are the defining factors for culturally sustainable indigenous tourism, and, most importantly, communication is the key to facilitate the significant factors efficiently.