The social and cultural arena of hunting tourism entrepreneurship

Hunting tourism has been regarded as an important cultural and economic factor in sustainable rural development. Tourism may create new jobs in regions facing depopulation, and contribute to the sustainment of local cultures and livelihoods. Hunting tourism also faces challenges, and previous studies have shown that local hunters are reluctant or ambivalent towards commercial hunting tourism. Competition, increased prices but also the dissolution of traditional values and hunting practices, are some of the anticipated risks. Towards the backdrop of such challenges, the aim of this project is to increase the understanding of the specific characteristics and conditions of hunting tourism entrepreneurship in Sweden, and to identify factors in hunting tourism that may sustain or prevent a sustainable development. By analyzing the perspective of the hunting tourism entrepreneurs, the study focuses on the meaning ascribed to the hunting tourism enterprise and the tourism product, and the ‘relational work’ involved, that is, how the entrepreneurs themselves understand, value and work with various actors in their social network and local community. Various forms of social and cultural capital will be analyzed, as well as symbolic boundary work and sources of tensions and conflicts. Theoretically, the study adopts the analytical framework of economic sociology and cultural analysis, investigating hunting tourism firms as a form of ‘lifestyle entrepreneurship’: 1) What are the motives, characteristics and values ascribed to hunting tourism entrepreneurship and the product provided, and how are these enterprises developed and performed? 2) How is relational work performed: How is symbolic boundaries negotiated between various types of actors and social spheres, such a work/leisure and commercial/non-commercial relationships? The study will be based on ethnographic interviews with a heterogenous sample of approximately 25 entrepreneurs, from different parts of Sweden.