Arctic geographies in the making : understanding political economy, institutional strategic selectivity, and agency in tourism pathway development

• Main Author: Bohn, Dorothee
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: UmeÃ¥ universitet, Institutionen för geografi 2024
• Subjects: Arctic tourism; political economy; institutional strategic selectivity; agency; tourism pathways; uneven development; metagovernance; regional development funding; resort enclave; firm financing; Human Geography; Kulturgeografi; Economic Geography; Ekonomisk geografi; Arktis*; Lapland; Norrbotten
• Online Access: http://urn.kb.se/resolve?urn=urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-222478

Tourism has long been promoted as a catalyst for socio-economic development in sparsely populated areas based on the commodification of culture and natural environments. This thesis examines the case of Arctic tourism in the two neighbouring northern counties of Finnish Lapland and Norrbotten (Sweden). Although characterised by similar resource endowments for tourism, these two regions have historically pursued divergent pathways, leading to different industry characteristics and spatial development outcomes. More recently, Lapland and Norrbotten have witnessed a remarkable increase in Arctic-themed tourism featuring soft nature-based winter activities and resort accommodation for export markets. To better understand the complex factors facilitating the emergence and consolidation of this pathway, a theoretical framework combining perspectives drawn from evolutionary economic geography, geographical political economy, and the strategic relational approach to structure and agency was selected. Through this theoretical lens, the thesis studies how wider politico-economic trajectories, institutional priorities and strategic selectivity, and entrepreneurial agency are intertwined in tourism path creation that takes place in path-dependent regional opportunity spaces. Empirically, the thesis rests upon a case study methodology that integrates expert interviews, document analysis, and spatial mapping of regional development funding for tourism projects and firms. The findings show that the geographical reimagination of Lapland and Norrbotten as Arctic tourism regions is part of wider socio-economic transformations. Export-oriented Arctic tourism is linked to a global political economy promoting economic growth and entrepreneurship, governed by multiscalar public-private networks, as the foundation of sustainable development and social wellbeing. For local places, the alignment with the Arctic represents an upscaling strategy to gain visibility and competitiveness within globalised politico-economic environments. At ...