Tourism and Arctic Observation Systems : exploring the relationships

The Arctic is affected by global environmental change and also by diverseinterests from many economic sectors and industries. Over the last decade,various actors have attempted to explore the options for setting up integratedand comprehensive trans-boundary systems for monitoring and observing these...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Polar Research
Main Authors: de la Barre, Suzanne, Maher, Patrick, Dawson, Jackie, Hillmer-Pegram, Kevin, Huijbens, Edward, Lamers, Machiel, Liggett, Daniela, Müller, Dieter K., Pashkevich, Albina, Stewart, Emma
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Umeå universitet, Arktiskt centrum vid Umeå universitet (Arcum) 2016
Subjects:
Arctic
Antarctic
citizen science
observation systems
tourism
IPTRN
Economic Geography
Ekonomisk geografi
Canada
Svalbard
Antarc*
Antarctica
Iceland
Polar Research
Online Access:http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-117604
https://doi.org/10.3402/polar.v35.24980
Description
Summary:The Arctic is affected by global environmental change and also by diverseinterests from many economic sectors and industries. Over the last decade,various actors have attempted to explore the options for setting up integratedand comprehensive trans-boundary systems for monitoring and observing theseimpacts. These Arctic Observation Systems (AOS) contribute to the planning,implementation, monitoring and evaluation of environmental change andresponsible social and economic development in the Arctic. The aim of thisarticle is to identify the two-way relationship between AOS and tourism. On theone hand, tourism activities account for diverse changes across a broad spectrumof impact fields.Onthe other hand, due to its multiple and diverse agents and farreachingactivities, tourism is also well-positioned to collect observational dataand participate as an actor in monitoring activities. To accomplish our goals, weprovide an inventory of tourism-embedded issues and concerns of interest toAOS from a range of destinations in the circumpolar Arctic region, includingAlaska, Arctic Canada, Iceland, Svalbard, the mainland European Arctic andRussia. The article also draws comparisons with the situation in Antarctica. Onthe basis of a collective analysis provided by members of the International PolarTourism Research Network from across the polar regions, we conclude that thepotential role for tourism in the development and implementation of AOS issignificant and has been overlooked.

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