In 2017, the Nordic business ministers (MR-Growth) decided that a Nordic plan for co-operation within tourism should becompiled. A working group was established to develop the plan. This Nordic tourism plan for the period from 2019-2023 highlights the business ministers’ priorities, unfolding in the four strategic themes: – Competitive Nordics – Innovative and smart Nordics – Sustainable Nordics – Attractive Nordics The plan is closely linked with the Nordic co-operation programme for business and innovation policy 2018-2021, which sets the framework for the Nordic business ministers’ collaboration.

Tourism is an important, growing industry in all the Nordic countries, but until recently, it has not had a particularly strong focus within the Nordic cooperation framework. This is changing rapidly, and the Nordic Council of Ministers has given a strong signal that increased emphasis should be placed on tourism issues within the Nordic framework. This project is a result of that important political prioritisation. The key objective of this project is to create a framework on which a Nordic Tourism Strategy can be established. Thus, the desired outcome of the project is to define future strategies and projects that will underscore common opportunities and challenges within Nordic tourism. The objective of a Nordic Tourism Policy Analysis is to provide valuable input to each country's work within tourism as well as laying a foundation for a common Nordic Tourism Policy.

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/nord2021-033/ As the impact of tourism has been growing globally and regionally, the forces at play in the industry have become more evident and contested. Before the COVID-19 pandemic forced a lockdown on the industry, tourism was one of the fastest growing industries in the world economy, with an important contribution to job creation, export revenue and domestic value added. While the pandemic has eroded infrastructures and innovative capacities, it has also made the need for new approaches and innovation more pressing. This report is an exploration of Nordic policies and practice with regard to monitoring the environmental, social and economic impact of tourism. It highlights expertise and best practices that already exist and makes observations and recommendations on how the Nordic countries can indeed “build back better” to create more sustainable and regenerative travel and tourism industries.

Nature-based tourism (NBT) is a sector where entrepreneurial success is highly knowledge driven. This insightful book offers a comprehensive evaluation of NBT in a Nordic context, highlighting how long-established Nordic traditions of outdoor recreation practices can reveal lessons for the field more broadly. Chapters explore Nordic and international perspectives, local communities, market dynamics, firms, creativity, innovations and value-added experience products.

Available online: https://pub.norden.org/temanord2023-518/ The Nordic countries all have large nature areas and clean waters attracting tourists from all over the world. Many visitors are attracted by fishing related activities, e.g. recreational fishing opportunities or coastal villages with a genuine fishing atmosphere provided by commercial fisheries. The role of fisheries for tourism is analysed in a study financed by the Nordic Council of Ministers. The study highlights that different tourists value different attributes. Some tourists want pristine nature and high recreational catches, while others favour developed services and a local commercial fishing culture. The Nordic tourist destinations could be expected to benefit from focusing on attributes where they are competitive such as pristine nature, closeness to major travel hubs, or a local harbour with traditional fishing vessels.

This book provides an in-depth examination of the growing Asian tourism market and consumption in Arctic destinations. Through five parts, the book covers Asian mobilities consumption as an extension of Arctic international politics, the transportation sector and green cruise tourism, and ethnicity, culture, and history. It contributes to further understanding of the impacts of increased tourism in these polar regions by exploring climate change, debates around emerging economies and global power roles in the political, socio-economic, security and legal issues of the Arctic and Antarctic and associated polar strategies and policy. By drawing on a range of disciplines and with contributions from experts in Arctic destinations or who are associated with the Arctic, it further provides a holistic framing of emerging demand and mobility patterns of Asian tourists in a polar context. Asian Mobilities Consumption in a Changing Arctic will be valuable reading for students and academics across the fields of tourism, economics, sustainability, development studies as well as other social science disciplines.