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Innovation and entrepreneurship in Swedish Lapland

2012; Inderscience Publishers; Volume: 2; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1504/ijta.2012.046092

1759-0450

Horacio U. Palomino,

Innovation and Knowledge Management

This paper explores how tourism has been embraced as an entrepreneurial activity by an indigenous group in Lapland, Sweden. Since 1996, the Laponia area, a national park in Lapland province, has been a UNESCO World Heritage site and, consequently, a growing amount of tourists has visited the region. The study examines whether the indigenous people of Sweden, the Sami, perceive tourism as a viable activity and as a new venture to support their economy and cultural welfare. The findings suggest that tourism entrepreneurship can complement the cultural group's existing livelihood strategies. In addition, indigenous innovation and entrepreneurship aims mainly at improving the indigenous quality of life, preserving their cultural heritage, nature included, and, ultimately, supporting the survival of the cultural group.