ACTOR: Arctic Climate Change, Tourism, and Outdoor Recreation, 2009

This research project studies how climate change may affect tourism and outdoor recreation in Northern Norway and Svalbard, and assess the implications of these changes. Northern Norway and Svalbard are experiencing rapid changes in the climate and these changes have environmental, societal, and economic consequences. Hence, climate change will most likely have considerable impact on the regions' tourists and tourism industry. The project includes identification and assessment of links and dependencies between climate parameters, tourists, and tourism as an economic and governmental sector. Moreover, the project includes projections of changes in climate elements of particular relevance to tourism in Northern Norway and Svalbard up to 2050; assessment of changes in tourist interests and activities based on projected climate change; assessment of the vulnerability of the regions' tourism industry to climate change impacts and climate-related events; and assess the adaptive capacity and adaptation strategies for the tourism industry. The project uses various types of available data and combines expertise from a number of disciplines. It is also organised as a partnership between institutions already formally linked through the establishment of the Oslo Centre for Interdisciplinary Environmental and Social Research (CIENS)

Tourism development strategy or just brown signage? Comparing road administration policies and designation procedures for official tourism routes in two Scandinavian countries

This comparative study maps and explores planning and designation of official tourism, routes in two countries with quite similar planning traditions, responding to a deficiency in research, on tourism route planning and development. Based on personal semi-structured interviews with, public road planners and managers in Norway and Sweden, the paper illuminates establishment and, management of official tourism routes, with an emphasis on overall strategies, funding, and, stakeholder involvement. Results show that public road administration route planning procedures in, the two countries are quite different. In Norway, a top–down principle is basically employed, concerning initiatives and designation of routes. In Sweden, the principle is one of muddling through, giving street-level planners more opportunities for individual influence on route planning. Funding for, road stretches included in the Norwegian national route programme is earmarked, whereas Swedish, routes are financed from ordinary appropriations to the regional road administrations. In Norway, regular follow-up studies such as road user surveys are conducted. In Sweden, a dearth of, documentation of tourist interests and route assessments seemingly makes route development, susceptible in relation to regional road administrations’ economic priorities

Turistvägar och näringsutveckling : trafikantupplevelser och planeringskriterier

VTI and the Norwegian Institute of Transport Economics (TØI) have at the request of the Swedish Road Administration carried out a research and development project concerning tourist routes in Sweden. The project was done in two parts, one literature study with examples of how other countries work with tourist routes and one field study about the opinions of visitors and business operators along two Swedish tourist routes (the present publication). The two tourist routes which have been studied are Tourist Route Gränna-Ödeshög-Rök in the Counties of Jönköping and Östergötland, and Tourist Route Kullaberg in the County of Skåne. The study of the experiences of the business operators, the visitors' willingness to pay and a deepened analysis of the landscape was only done along the Gränna route. As for the experiences of the visitors the data for the two Swedish tourist routes have been compared with similar data from a Norwegian tourist route, Tourist Route Sognefjell

Silos as barriers to public sector climate adaptation and preparedness: insights from road closures in Norway

Organisational perspectives propose that structural arrangements affect policy outcomes. Drawing on these perspectives, it is worthwhile to find out whether and how disagreements among public authorities create barriers to public sector adaptation and preparedness. As the literature on weather vulnerabilities and climate adaptation recommends increased public sector coordination, exploring the possibilities of governance can contribute to the improvement of lifeline conditions. Insights from a Norwegian case study suggest that the different mandates of responsible public authorities sometimes clash. Such clashes limit the abilities to sustain welfare and business conditions when avalanches and blizzards cause highway outages. The findings also show that governance might only partly improve public sector peril response measures, as there is rarely sufficient flexibility to consider specific interests or preferences, for example, to keep a highway open until a school bus or a freight delivery has passed

Withstanding winter vulnerabilities: A way of life in a northern seaside community

This study responds to the dearth of qualitative research on long-term adaptation to winter climate-induced access and safety problems in rural areas in Western welfare societies. Based on qualitative interviews with 19 long-term residents in a thriving fishing village in northern Norway, the paper explores how they have adapted to and coped with roadside avalanches, blizzards, heavy snowfalls, and snowdrifts that have suddenly closed access highways and cut off other lifelines. The study shows that the inhabitants have internalised hazard adaptation and preparedness through safeguarding themselves, family members, their home and community during difficult times. Still, they admitted that local solidarity and coping capacity were changing with the arrival of newcomers who are less accustomed to and experienced with these hazards. Despite high personal and joint adaptation and coping capacities, the study also reveals denial of risk and the prevalence of worry, particularly among women. The inhabitants acknowledged mortality risk while driving on avalanche-exposed winter highways, yet assumed that they would not have a fatal accident.publishedVersio