Across the world, tourism surrounding glaciers and national parks has become widespread and essential to the development of sustainable economic strategies. But how can the sustainability of tourism be assured in years to come? A recent study from a team of Icelandic scientists published in the Journal of Rural and Community Development argues for the value of incorporating input from local communities into the process of developing sustainable tourism, particularly in rural, sparsely populated regions of Europe.
In the northern periphery (NP) of Europe, which refers to all the Nordic countries and the autonomous North Atlantic Faroe and Åland islands, tourism has become essential to the development of new economic paths. But according to this study, these regions face many challenges based on the fact that these areas are “as a rule, geographically peripheral, vast territories of especially fragile ecosystems, with limited infrastructure, low and declining population densities and few economically feasible industries.” As a result, “these factors contribute to making tourism an increasingly important industry in the NP, from an economic and social point of view.”
This is an excerpt from an article originally published by Glacier Hub.
