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- Stjernström, Olof, 1961-, et al.
(author)
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Environmental protection : an instrument for regional development? National ambitions versus local realities in the case of tourism
- 2009
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism. - Oslo : Taylor & Francis in coop. with the Norwegian School of Hotel Management in Stavanger. - 1502-2250 .- 1502-2269. ; 9:4, s. 387-405
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- This paper deals with the relation between protection of land and local and regional development through a power and democracy perspective on planning. A Swedish case is used to illustrate the connection between planning, local power and local development, with reference to tourism in a Nordic context. When areas are protected, planning automatically becomes centralized, taking the planning process out of the hands of the local authorities. Within these state territories of set rules, regulations and institutionalized systems - eco-protectorates - the local population becomes powerless when it comes to making decisions about land-use and is unable to engage in economically viable tourism enterprises because of centralized decision-making. Even in nature-based tourism where the quality of nature is important, it could therefore be more advantageous to have access to non-protected land for nature tourism. This is even more so because the idea of regional and local development often appears to have been "attached" as an afterthought or pious wish to the central planning documents. With genuine intention to stimulate local and regional development, protection should itself be based on geographical awareness and sensitivity to the diverse conditions in which such development is visualized. Local initiatives regarding land-use and protection do not have to be in conflict with national and international ambitions and regulations but they easily can be.
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| 2. |
- Lundmark, Linda, 1975-
(author)
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Mobility, migration and seasonal tourism employment : evidence from Swedish mountain municipalities
- 2006
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In: Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism. - : Routledge. - 1502-2250 .- 1502-2269. ; 6:3, s. 197-213
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- In recent research it has been shown that a large share of the tourism work force in the Swedish mountain municipalities have their permanent place of residence outside of daily commuting distance from the municipality where they work. In this study, tourism labour mobility and migration to two Swedish mountain municipalities, Åre and Malung, is examined. The principal question addressed is whether temporal tourism labour migration leads to permanent migration of tourism workers or not. The research is based on a longitudinal database material including individual observations between the years 1991–2001. It is shown that the case municipalities have a higher propensity than the rest to employ in‐migrants in tourism. Results also show that relatively few people involved in temporary labour migration to tourism employment in the case municipalities later will permanently migrate to the mountain municipalities but that tourism sector employment is important for the in‐migration of long distance commuters to the case municipalities. The reason for this it is argued is that the motive to seasonally migrate to tourism employment is lifestyle‐related and not meant to be permanent. The seasonality of tourism employment has implications for the local and regional development through tourism.
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| 4. |
- Lundmark, Linda, 1975-
(author)
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Restructuring and employment change in sparsely populated areas : examples from Northern Sweden and Finland
- 2006
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Doctoral thesis (other academic/artistic)abstract
- The purpose of this thesis is to examine ongoing restructuring and its impacts on sparsely populated areas in Sweden and Finland. In the context of sparsely populated areas, the global processes have great local impact because of their poor capacity to adapt to rapid economic changes. The focus here is on tourism and forest-related employment, however amenity motives for mobility and migration are also considered in relation to restructuring. A major part of the information used in this thesis comes from a database collected and stored by Statistics Sweden.Results show that employment in tourism in the Swedish mountain municipalities is largely seasonal in character. The seasonality of tourism has caused seasonal in-migration or long-distance commuting of young people, first and foremost to the southern mountain municipalities. The success of tourism as a regional development strategy is affected by the structure and characteristics of the local labour force. The importance of tourism for development also depends on other regional characteristics such as infrastructure, demographic composition, experience and education of the local labour force, as well as on attributes of the tourism industry. The assumed and almost automatic positive relationship between nature conservation and tourism is challenged. Tourism employment does not automatically follow from unemployment in forest sectors, accentuating differences in the characteristics of the labour force needed in tourism, forestry and related activities and the difficulty of enforcing restructuring and diversification towards tourism.In the last article, analyses of the forest-related employment are in focus. It is concluded that there is no significant effect of climate change on employment. Instead other global, national and local processes and interrelationships, such as supply and demand and productivity increase, have a greater impact on employment. Forestry and related sectors have shifted towards a more capital intensive management, which means that the productivity rate of the each worker is so high that the increasing amount of harvestable forest due to climate change does not involve the employment of more people. The relative unimportance of forestry and forest-related employment in the research area has also been highlighted.In conclusion, the economic restructuring processes in relation to tourism have been limited in a majority of the mountain municipalities. This is clearly demonstrated by the high level of seasonal labour mobility to some parts of the mountain area. However, there is evidence suggesting a positive relationship between seasonal tourism employment and permanent migration. To the north, there are fewer large resorts with high seasonal pressure than in the south. This means that tourism can be a way of maintaining work opportunities and sustaining local service. In the south and in the larger resorts, tourism might be a way to ensure more employment, albeit on a seasonal basis. Local diversity through place-dependent activities like tourism and resource-based recreation, as well as resource extraction, might offer opportunities for economic diversification. However, if the demographic structure is unbalanced there will be difficulties in pursuing economic restructuring and diversification. Add to this a peripheral location and there are many obstacles to increasing population, even temporarily. Thus, tourism development must be carefully considered on a local basis.
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