| Summary: | This report explores the relation between innovation in tourism and peripherality in the light of sustainable regional development. Case study observations in two peripheral tourist destinations in Sweden, Åre and Kiruna municipalities, provide the basis for analysing how peripherality factors effect innovation in this particular environment. Peripherality factors are divided into structural, institutional and local factors. Based on innovations literature, innovations and regional innovation system are broken down into three activity groups - knowledge, resources and market access. The emphasis is on nature-based tourism, ecotourism and sustainable tourism consisting of local small and medium sized firms as opposed to multinational large-scale tourist firms. The report challenges the traditional view that innovation is rare or inexistent in tourism and in peripheral areas and concludes that innovation is well present among tourist firms in these regions. Innovations in peripheral areas tend to involve a reinvention of cultural and natural resources and be characterized by sustainability. The report concludes that providing support structures facilitating innovation and innovation systems based on tourism in peripheral areas is vital in order to maintain living and sustainable peripheral regions.
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