NS34 Session 14

 

HOME       About the conference       Program       Sessions       Abstract submission

Practical information       Organisation & committees       PhD Seminar

 

 

Title: Community‑centred and Place‑based Regenerative Cultural Tourism in Northern and Arctic Rural, Island and Peripheral Communities 

Organisers: Alöna Roitershtein, Harald Klaus Dolles, Laufey Haraldsdóttir, Firouz Gaini, Guðrún Þóra Gunnarsdóttir, Ása Marta Sveinsdóttir, Patrick Maher

Affiliation: Robert Gordon University, Holar University, University of the Faroe Islands, ITRC, Nipissing University

 

Description

Title: Place-Based Regenerative Action vs. National Sustainability Certification? - Case Sustainable Travel Finland
Author: Roosa Ridanpää, University of Oulu

The sustainability certification schemes persist as a tool for improving sustainability in tourism enterprises. In Finland, Sustainable Travel Finland (STF) programme guides enterprises and destinations toward more sustainable operations. At the same time, interest in regenerative tourism has grown among many enterprises and destinations as a natural step forward. While previous research has questioned the impacts of sustainability certification, STF has already included content on regenerative tourism into its learning materials. This makes it important to critically assess how the concept is being introduced to tourism enterprises in Finland and whether STF is able to align with regenerative thinking.

The study conducted 43 interviews with tourism enterprises operating in Northern Finland. The analysis revealed both challenges and promising pathways for regenerative transition within STF programme. Based on the findings, the presentation introduces three imaginary enterprises, which illustrate different rural contexts wherein enterprises operate and the role of STF for them. How do place-based regenerative action and national-level steering meet in these cases? To what extent is STF able to support the enterprises in regenerative transition in its current form, and what could be changed? The study concludes that STF and similar programmes in the Nordics have the potential to support regenerative transition, provided they are able to allocate resources for place-based regenerative action, reinforce bottom-up action at destinations, and facilitate shifts in meaning-making among enterprises, DMOs, visitors, and communities.

 

Title: Toward a Regenerative Sauna Framework: Governance, Cultural Depth, and Rural Futures
Author: Becky Pelkonen, University of Eastern Finland

For centuries, sauna has served as a foundational third space, a shared, community-oriented setting beyond home and work, where cultural identity, social relations, and livelihoods are sustained through embodied, tradition-coded practices of reciprocity, care, and stewardship. Today, rapid global growth threatens these relational foundations: as sauna spreads beyond its cultural origins, the commons of culture and care that sustain rural life risk giving way to commodification and external extraction.

This paper presents the early development of a Regenerative Sauna Framework: a model for governance and development that examines why some sauna-based rural third spaces evolve as inclusive cultural commons while others become fragile amenities, and how to move forward to support regenerative livelihoods and economic futures through a systems thinking lens. Drawing on third-space theory (Soja, 1996; Bhabha, 1994) and the Quadruple Bottom Line framework, the model positions cultural depth, the degree to which sauna practice is rooted in place-based identity, intergenerational knowledge, and biophilic reciprocity, as a decisive variable alongside governance structure in shaping sustainable tourism livelihoods.

Grounded in emerging doctoral research at the University of Eastern Finland, the framework will be tested through comparative fieldwork across rural sites in Finland, Norway, Ireland, and Canada. This paper presents its theoretical architecture and invites critical dialogue ahead of that empirical work.

By revaluing sauna as critical social infrastructure and cultural commons rather than merely a consumer product, the paper argues that regenerative rural futures depend not on more saunas, but on better ones, governed and tended in ways that regenerate culture, community, and ecological health from the inside out.

 

Title: Working with the Community: The Røst Tourism Manifesto
Author: Marzia Liuzza, University of Padova, Ca' Foscari University of Venice

The presentation discusses the development of a Tourism Manifesto of the island of Røst, a small fishing community in northern Norway. The Manifesto emerges from a locally grounded process aimed at defining the conditions under which tourism can coexist with an economy historically structured around fisheries and a dense relational social fabric.

Positioned at the intersection of sustainable tourism, regenerative tourism and community tourism, the case assumes that these paradigms offer complementary tools for safeguarding collective well-being. Sustainability provides the environmental and socio-economic frame; community tourism anchors decision-making in local agency; regenerative tourism extends the perspective by introducing qualitative limits, relational responsibility and the need to preserve systemic equilibrium.

Rather than promoting expansion, the Manifesto articulates locally defined thresholds that protect social cohesion, ecological balance and the productive centrality of fisheries. Tourism is framed as a complementary and stabilising activity, contributing to demographic continuity without altering the island’s structural balance. The contribution of the research lies in conceptualising the Manifesto not only as a participatory output, but as a normative governance device that formalises community-defined limits and priorities. The case of Røst thus illustrates how rural and Arctic communities can actively shape culturally grounded and territorially coherent pathways for regenerative tourism.

 

Title: Micro, Small and Medium Food and Drink Producers: Place, Culture and Community in North-East Scotland
Author: Anne Singleton, Robert Gordon University

Developing tourism in North-East Scotland (NES) with a specific focus on enhancing the regional foodscape to grow a food tourism destination to attract visitors both locally and from further afield to meet a range of producers and hear the place and culturally based stories.

Research was undertaken to explore the micro, small and medium (MSM) food and drink producers in North-East Scotland. Interpretative mixed qualitative research based on a semi-structured interview framework involving textual and photo-elicitation method, including a novel PhotoTrail approach.

From the participants narrative there was a determined focus for the NES MSM food and drink producers to create a quality product with a strong regional provenance encapsulating place and cultural nuances. Place attachment and sense of belonging motivated some to continue to develop the enterprise with a goal to build a food or drink authentic experience in a rural community. Working in more rural areas with open green spaces individuals found benefits to their well-being and enhanced inspiration from the environment of their lived experience.

Creating an authentic product was strengthened through place, cultural narrative for inspiration, access to raw materials and developing people in the production team. A story can develop emotional connections between producer, product and customer. Pride in the product and place and having an opportunity for them to give back to the place they felt they belonged and called home was a positive achievement. NES MSM food and drink producers were able to develop cultural depth through the food and drink products they created. The work they undertake has the potential to employ local people to build the community-centred place of production. Developing associated authentic visitor experiences to connect with product and producer to hear the story related to their culture and place attachment could enrich place-based regenerative cultural tourism within North-East Scotland.

 

Title: Collaborative Horizons: Cross-Cultural Student Synergy and Resilient Tourism Design in East Greenland
Authors: Kelli Park, University of Southern Maine, and Tracy Michaud

In the frontier landscapes of the High North, where the rhythm of the seasons dictates the flow of life, regenerative tourism is built upon a constellation of shared stories and local resilience. This proposal highlights the new work of the Arctic Education Alliance (AEA), Visit East Greenland, and Campus Kujalleq during their Summer 2026 field project in Tasiilaq. This initiative centered on a high-impact cross-cultural collaboration between US and Greenlandic students, bridging international perspectives with deep-rooted regional expertise.

Using the Ammassalik Tourist Information Centre as a collaborative anchor, the project explored the potential for multipurpose facility design as a catalyst for year-round, regenerative tourism. Central to this experience is the "braiding" of diverse knowledge systems—integrating community-based research with Western management models and Indigenous ways of knowing. The project seeks to move away from extractive seasonal models by investigating how living community spaces can foster "Right Relations," ensuring that tourism development is co-created through reciprocity rather than external imposition.

This place-based pedagogy grounds students' understanding of leadership in a deep relationality with both the community and the environment. By honoring the interconnectedness of people and place, the collaboration provides a blueprint for professional stewardship that is culturally resonant and locally led. The presentation will share the methodological framework and grounded findings distilled from this intercultural exchange, demonstrating how land-based, relationship-centered collaborations that involve both visitors and locals are essential for the future of sustainable Arctic tourism.

Keywords: Right Relations, Cross-Cultural Collaboration, Visit East Greenland, Campus Kujalleq, Regenerative Tourism, Place-Based Pedagogy.

 

Title: Contextual Sensitivity Leadership in Regenerative Tourism Futures in the Arctic
Author: Heidi Kaihua, Lapland University of Applied Sciences

There are tourism enterprises in Lapland whose business practices align with the principles of regenerative tourism. I found my way to them through my doctoral dissertation research journey into the experiences of leaders. Understanding of the phenomenon emerges through leaders’ experiences formed in the local context rather than through the application of predefined theoretical frameworks of regenerative tourism.

What is the significance of a leader’s experiential perspective for understanding the challenges faced by tourism enterprises? The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis produced four experiential themes and highlighted the prominence of social responsibility, which prompted a more in‑depth examination of the phenomenon.

The second study shifted the focus to broadens the understanding of stakeholder relations and highlights nature as a central actor, particularly in peripheral where business activities are closely intertwined with the local community and environment. How is socially responsible value creation constructed from the perspective of a leader in a small tourism enterprise? The Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis shows that social responsibility manifests as a reciprocal interaction process in which leaders and stakeholders co‑create value together. The research findings revealed care as a new dimension.

The third study took a deeper look at the leader's value base within a social‑ecological system. What role does a place‑embedded and value‑driven leader play in advancing regenerative tourism in the region? Reflexive Thematic Analysis shows that leaders play a meaningful role in fostering connections with nature and other stakeholders, strengthening local identity, and promoting collective well-being and they can support a regenerative future in the Arctic.

Key words: regenerative tourism, leadership, Arctic area, stakeholder relationship

 

Title: Conceptualising Regenerative Storytelling: Potential Understandings and Applications
Authors: Jennifer Holman, University of Waterloo, Michela J. Stinson, and Bryan S. R. Grimwood

The purpose of this presentation is to convey the conceptual and methodological dimensions of regenerative storytelling, and how it can potentially be put to work across various case studies. Storytelling and regenerative tourism are terms the tourism industry and academy are familiar with. However, the concept of regenerative storytelling in tourism remains underexplored. Regenerative storytelling, as we conceptualise it, is the practice of sharing and co-creating place-based narratives that not only convey local cultural and ecological values, but foster reciprocal relationships and inspire actions that restore and sustain community and environmental wellbeing. This understanding has been developed from a range of literature on regenerative tourism, storytelling, narrative, relationality, and reciprocity – drawing from critical tourism, Indigenous, and decolonial scholarship. In this presentation, we draw on this conceptualisation of regenerative storytelling to show how research can be repositioned as a relational, ethical, and world-making practice. More specifically, we draw on research associated with a multi-case study project on ruination to develop an approach that mobilises counter-narratives arising from contested tourism contexts as regenerative storytelling, highlighting their capacity to reshape and redirect visitors toward relational and place-aligned behaviour. The presentation demonstrates how regenerative storytelling can be operationalised by outlining its conceptual underpinnings, illustrating congruent methodologies, and by connecting with emerging research that highlights how re-storied accounts may influence visitor meaning-making. In doing so, we position regenerative storytelling as a research approach that decentres dominant ideologies and enacts ethical responsibility for people, place, and narrative – contributing to the re-storying of destinations.

 

Title: Contested Identities of a Place: Perspectives of Different Stakeholder Groups
Author: Harald Dolles, Molde University College - Specialized University in Logistics

Place identity develops over time. While many studies define place identity as a form of personal identity shaped in relation to a place, another body of literature recognises that place identity is what distinguishes a place from others: its unique characteristics or imageability (well-known landmarks), and social features (events), and their usage in place-related processes. While institutions may promote an image of a place, its identity is much deeper and encompasses the meaning that its inhabitants have attributed to it. However, people ascribe this meaning based on their personal interests or knowledge, thus creating contested place identities in relation to time.

By using Åndalsnes and Rauma Municipality located in Møre og Romsdal in nord-west Norway as a case study, this research shall explore the identity of the town, as perceived by different stakeholder groups over time. The research builds upon interviews and surveys with local residents, Norwegian and international visitors, perceptions by local institutions and the image of the town, visible in marketing campaigns.

In conclusion, Åndalsnes and Rauma Municipality are described as being blessed with natural beauty (the combination of the fjord, mountains, valleys and river), but some of the so-called landmark attractions are man-made, such as Trollstigen road (opened 1936), and the gondola (opened 2021). Thus, identity is orchestrated to some extent through destination image marketing campaigns, creating mixed perceptions and acceptance among local residents. The marketing image of the place acts further as a guide to highlighted features, resulting in somehow “accepted” wear and tear. However, this opens up the possibility of saving other places and activities for local residents.

 

Title: From Tourism Product to Cultural Affordance: Rural Festivals, Community Building, and Place Attachment
Author: Ingunn Elvekrok, University of South-Eastern Norway

In sparsely populated rural regions, community resilience increasingly depends on social cohesion, place attachment, and the capacity of local communities to sustain settlement over time. This paper examines how community-based cultural tourism can contribute to such resilience through the activation of cultural affordances—that is, place-specific possibilities for participation, interaction, and collective sense making. Using the Motvind Festival in Rollag municipality, Norway, as a case study, the paper analyses how a small-scale, volunteer-driven cultural event functions as a resilience-building social arena both for the organizers and the hosting place.

Drawing on affordance theory, alongside perspectives from community resilience and place attachment, the paper conceptualises the festival as more than a cultural or tourism product. Through its integration of local landscape, ethical orientation, experimental music practices, and high degree of local involvement, Motvind affords forms of social interaction that strengthen bonding social capital, shared identity, and local pride. These affordances enable residents to engage as co-producers of cultural meaning rather than passive hosts, reinforcing long-term attachment to place. An additional element in the story of Motvind is that the group behind the festival consists of newcomers from urban areas who have drawn others with them. They use the term micro-urbanism, the idea of bringing parts of the city to the countryside, when explaining the success of the festival.

The analysis situates these findings within broader discussions of national total defence, where dispersed settlement and resilient local communities are increasingly understood as strategic societal assets in an unstable global context. From this perspective, culture-led tourism initiatives such as Motvind can be seen as informal infrastructures of resilience, supporting community cohesion, place attractiveness and adaptive capacity. The paper argues that affordance theory provides a useful lens for understanding how rural cultural festivals contribute to resilience at the intersection of tourism, community development, and societal preparedness.