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- Almén Linn, Jenny, 1971, et al.
(author)
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Food tourism as a way of integration into the Swedish labor market?
- 2018
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In: Tomorrow’s Food Travel (TFT) conference, Centre for Tourism – University of Gothenburg, 8–10 October 2018, Gothenburg, Sweden.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The tourism industry is a sector with a large income and is expected to continue its expansion both in Sweden as well as internationally. The last couple of years have seen the total consumption within the tourism industry amount to 270 billion SEK. Due to Sweden’s rich natural and cultural values, attractive and clean nature and well-functioning cities, growth is expected. However, not all parts of the country partake in the expansion at the same rate. In Gothenburg, its north-eastern districts receive almost every second newly-immigrated resident, while the pressing housing shortage locks in a familiar pattern of poor living conditions, ill health and dire future outlooks. Gothenburg continues to be a socio-economically segregated city, while its northern districts are in strong need of enhanced development to increase their level of self-sufficiency and of breaking negative patterns. At the same time, there are great assets vested in the area in the form of agricultural landscapes, attractive natural settings and a strong cultural life with influences from all over the world. To this background, this presentation looks into whether socio-economic problems inherent of a segregated city can be partly solved by engaging in the growing tourism sector and by focusing on food production, sustainable tourism, and the natural and cultural advantages of the area. This is done by investigating an ongoing municipal sustainability project in the north-eastern areas of Gothenburg. It is an interdisciplinary endeavor involving several different municipal authorities, research institutions and non-governmental organizations, with the intent to increase the areas sense of involvement and to strengthen sustainable business development within: food production, tourism, green business and climate-smart logistics platforms and networks for cooperation. The aim of this presentation is to explore how social inclusion and labor market integration can be facilitated through tourism and food.
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| 2. |
- Melander, Dan, 1952, et al.
(author)
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Destination development and food: Can it work?
- 2018
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In: Tomorrow's Food Travel #TFTSWEDEN Corporate Conference; Visit Sweden, Centre for Tourism at the University of Gothenburg, West Sweden Tourist Board and Gothenburg & Co., 9–10 October 2018, Gothenburg, Sweden.
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Conference paper (other academic/artistic)abstract
- Local participation is an oft agreed upon criterion and an essential condition for development and sustainability of any „new‟ form of tourism. Yet, it is the combination of the words „local‟ and „participation‟ that paradoxically implies that local residents are being so often left out of the planning, decision-making and managing of tourist development. Indeed, many have failed to understand the social structures that affect the outcome of participation. This issue is important to have in mind if we truly wish to embrace and develop local food production and tourism in the social setting of socio-economically challenged areas, such as the north-eastern parts of Gothenburg. Here, using food tourism as an integration strategy can be problematic for different reasons. A focus on food may breed stereotypes about immigrants or general suspicion, and thus attract negative media attention. Moreover, low levels of trust in municipal authorities can create difficulties of implementation and cause reluctance among the key actors in the area. By departing from the experiences of the ongoing project “Urban Rural Gothenburg”, this presentation takes in both tracks into account: the benefits of food tourism and the area’s many assets, but also the challenges these assets may entail due to the area’s specific socio-economic characteristics.
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