Attractivity in the periphery

The aim of the research project is to create new knowledge about the role of the tourism industry in vulnerable places with a particular focus on socially sustainable place attractiveness.

At first glance, it seems excellent to create attractive tourist destinations in vulnerable places. Increased number of visitors break the geographical and social isolation of the areas. The local business community gets a boost and creates new jobs. Place stigmatization is reduced. At the same time, it is complicated to balance tourism strategies and the interests of local residents. There is a risk of creating artificial exoticism, commercialization of the area, and exploitation of the inhabitants. In other words, there are a number of tensions that needs to be carefully addressed in order for place attractiveness to be socially sustainable over time.

In this project, we examine how the tourism industry is involved in creating socially sustainable experiences that strengthen the attractiveness of marginalized places over time for visitors and residents.