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Abstract |
Global travel has exploded in recent decades and challenges the current management system. How can attractive destinations like the popular Lofoten islands in Northern Norway face the “tsunami” of new travelers? Who will pay the hidden costs? The effect of strong growth in the number of visitors and changes in travel patterns, type of experiences, as well as visitor behavior is now creating a challenge for many communities and destinations. How can the local communities be empowered to take more control over their own tourism development? Nordland extends about 250 km both north and south of the polar circle and offers exciting experiences connected to a broad range of landscapes, it borders the North Atlantic which creates a climate more moderate than any other place in the arctic. Nordland County Council (fylkeskommune) which runs this project, is the regional governing administration of Nordland county, running upper secondary schools, county roads, public transport, culture and cultural heritage, providing regional planning strategies and advising its 41 municipalities in local planning and management. Nordland County Council has worked systematically with experience-based tourism for the last 10 years and this project is anchored in the Strategy for Tourism and Innovation.What characterizes tourism is that, because production and consumption of the experience takes place in the same place, customers are brought to the place of production. This is the reason why tourism greatly affects the communities in which it is practiced. The aim of the pilot project is to develop tools and methods that ensure sustainable visitor management. The focus is to empower communities to participate in the development process as they bring local knowledge which can make the difference between a policy succeeding or failing. The object of this project is to involve communities and other actors in a holistic way, in order to develop tools which will help to take care of nature and the environment, ensure that the experience is good for both visitors and residents, while the local value creation is the greatest possible. |
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