This chapter focuses on services and experience production, with insights into nine family tourism firms in the Norwegian county of Finnmark and in Finnish Lapland. The perspectives of service design and experience production, and the concept of 'coopetition', a term indicating cooperation of...

This chapter evaluates the Subarctic Network project, started in Norrbotten County, northern Sweden, in July 2002, with the aim of enhancing cooperation and market access among tourism entrepreneurs in the region. It is concluded that networking in peripheral areas with large distances between the...

This chapter discusses the role of tourism in regional development and provides an overview on the recent tourism development in northern Finland. The regional economy of tourism in northern Finland is approached by using municipality level data. The economic significance of tourism is approached...

This chapter first briefly presents the results of a tourism development project in Finland called the MONO project and then assesses the results from a services perspective. The aim of the MONO project was to develop voluntary guidelines for the production of a range of nature-based activity...

This chapter examines the implications for the Finnish tourism industry of the Baltic countries' accession to the EU. First, the relationships between Finland and Estonia, and between Finland and Russia, are briefly introduced. In the second section, reflections on transformations and EU...

This chapter discusses nature as it is used commercially within the ecotourism industry. The theoretical as well as the material framework of this chapter is the concept of cultural economy in relation to nature. The argument is framed by a set of changes that have occurred in the ecotourism...

This chapter shows that ecotourism is a non-existent phenomenon in Norway, at least in terms of an intended business activity. There are different reasons for this, even though the traditionally close relationship of Norwegians with nature is the most important one. Nature is the core element of...

This chapter summarizes findings from three associated studies of visitors to the Swedish mountain region. The first two studies provide a holistic view, using national samples to examine current tourism patterns and recent trends in the Swedish mountain region. The third study focuses on a...

This chapter shows how the Norwegian Coastal Express, 'Hurtigruten', has developed from a form of transport with some seasonal tourism to a full-blown coastal voyage, and how it seems to be developing further in the direction of the cruise ship business. The chapter discusses what kind of tourism...

Focusing on the Danish labour market, this chapter compares human resource management policies and practices between small and large tourism enterprises. In particular, it discusses some important aspects of personnel turnover and economic performance of tourism firms. Labour data used in the...