International winter tourism entrepreneurs in northern Sweden : understanding migration, lifestyle, and business motivations
This paper examines the migration, lifestyle and business motivations of international winter tourism entrepreneurs who have moved to a “low-amenity” rural area in northern Sweden. Low-amenity areas are characterised by economic decline, outmigration and limited tourism development. Based on qualita...
| Published in: | Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism |
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| Main Authors: | , , |
| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Umeå universitet, Institutionen för geografi och ekonomisk historia
2018
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-138129 https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250.2017.1339503 |
| Summary: | This paper examines the migration, lifestyle and business motivations of international winter tourism entrepreneurs who have moved to a “low-amenity” rural area in northern Sweden. Low-amenity areas are characterised by economic decline, outmigration and limited tourism development. Based on qualitative interviews, the research applied a multi-dimensional framework to the study of migrant tourism entrepreneurship, considering personal migration drivers, the value of location-specific amenities, desired consumptive experiences, previous familiarity with the destination, business-related goals, as well as temporal and technological dimensions of mobility and self-employment. The findings suggest that the northern winter and the undeveloped low-amenity character of the place were key factors in migration choices. Consumptive lifestyle interests around counter-urban living and winter outdoor hobbies were prominent, yet there was diversity in terms of business aspirations and considerable seasonal lifestyle-business balancing. Despite noticeable contributions to winter tourism development in the low-amenity north, the study also identified a sense of temporariness and expected onward migration among migrants, raising questions about the longevity of this development. Mobilising the rural: Post-productivism and the new economy (FORMAS) Modelling demographic change in small villages of Sweden’s sparsely populated north (FORMAS) |
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