
Sustainability and hospitality in the North – the views of local entrepreneurs
How do northern companies in the hospitality industry think about green investments and growth? And what actually defines a 'sustainable investment'? These are some of the questions investigated in the project "Growing green – tourism and hospitality", a research project that explored sustainability in the hospitality industry in the north by interviewing various stakeholders, both companies and industry organizations.
– One conclusion we take away is that sustainability for these companies is not just about the three usual aspects: economic, ecological and social sustainability. Independently, they have also highlighted cultural sustainability. We see four aspects of sustainability rather than three, and we see that all four are equally important, says Tim Foster, Associate Professor of Industrial Marketing at Luleå University of Technology.
Cultural sustainability means that the local culture needs to be alive and that it can be shared with tourists and visitors in a sustainable way. The interviewed companies highlight the importance of preserving local languages, traditions and ways of life.
The research is based on interviews with both individual companies and with organizations that gather several smaller companies such as "Swedish Lapland" and "Visit Luleå". The method used to identify who to interview is called "snowballing". This means that the interviewees are asked about other relevant actors to be interviewed – until it starts to snowball and the whole field seems to be investigated. In this case, the work began with an interview with Camp Ripan outside Kiruna - an actor who invests in sustainability for several reasons.
– "We want to dig where we are, take advantage of the local culture and highlight the Arctic everyday life. Protecting the nature we have here is very important to us and we would like our guests to take advantage of what we have and also take home new information that can help them make their everyday life more sustainable. Our staff is also a big part of this and it is also a way for us to be sustainable financially, spread out our guests and thus retain the expertise we have here with us. We want to show our part of the world to more generations to come!" says Ida Johansson, General Manager at Camp Ripan.
One of the questions asked is where the greatest demand for sustainability and green investments mainly comes from. Is it the tourists, the companies themselves, or the politicians who are pushing for more sustainability?
The interviews show that tourists want to invest their money in companies that care about the environment. They want to experience genuine natural wilderness, and demand sustainability, which makes this type of investment particularly interesting for entrepreneurs. But even if the incentives are there, it is difficult for smaller companies to find the time and resources to carry out a total transformation of the business. One example is the investment required to go completely electric in a business that relies on vehicles such as cars or snowmobiles - investing in both new vehicles and charging facilities is a major expense for a small business.
Another challenge highlighted is the possibility of uniformly certifying your business as sustainable. Today there is no uniform standard and it takes a lot of time and energy to push through a certification, while many would like to receive proof of their work.
Want to know more about the robot or get in touch with the team?
Contact:
- Tim Foster, Assistant Professor
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