International winter tourism entrepreneurs in northern Sweden : understanding migration, lifestyle, and business motivations

• Published in: Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism
• Main Authors: Carson, Doris Anna, Carson, Dean Bradley, Eimermann, Marco
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Umeå universitet, Institutionen för geografi och ekonomisk historia 2018
• Subjects: international lifestyle migration; lifestyle tourism entrepreneur; winter tourism; low-amenity rural area; northern Sweden; Human Geography; Kulturgeografi; Northern Sweden
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-138129; https://doi.org/10.1080/15022250.2017.1339503

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)