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Sustainable urbanisation? Norwegian cabin culture in transition

2010; Taylor & Francis; Volume: 8; Issue: 3 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1080/14766825.2010.510910

1747-7654

Thomas Berker, Helen Jøsok Gansmo,

Migration, Aging, and Tourism Studies

Abstract In this article, we explore a cultural change which has made the desire to live close to nature from a core tenet of Norwegian culture to an unsustainable threat to nature. During the last two decades, Norwegian cabin tourism has moved from 'hard' forms (few, prolonged stays, strong identification with the site) of ecotourism to 'softer' ones (shorter, more frequent stays, commercialisation of the site). These changes, we argue, have led to a situation in which the image of an ideal cabin which echoes hard ecotourism is perpetuated within new, softer practices. Unfortunately, this new kind of nature tourism, which is characterised by many short stays of many uncoordinated visitors spread over preferably 'pristine' nature, is inherently unsustainable. As an alternative, we propose more cautious transitions to more coordinated and 'denser' forms of tourism, which are exemplified in two cases. Keywords: leisurenatureNorwaytourismsustainabilitysecond home Acknowledgement This paper is based on research funded by the Research Council of Norway as part of the FRIMUF programme. Notes http://www.ssb.no/norge/bolig.pdf (retrieved December 16, 2009). According to Statistics Norway, energy consumption has increased by 6% both in 2006 and 2007, http://wap.ssb.no/artikkel/energikomm/2009-05-13 (retrieved December 18, 2009). We are grateful to the anonymous reviewer for his or her useful suggestions, which included this point. All interviews were conducted as telephone interview. One interview was conducted with an energy consultant involved in both cases, two with actors driving the Fjellsnaret development, and one with the main developer of the Geilo resort. http://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/sustainable/about_geotourism.html (retrieved February 11, 2009). http://www.geilofjellandsby.no/Galleri/TV2.wmv (retrieved February 11, 2009). For example, http://www.geilofjellandsby.no/docs/Hallingdolen_28feb_3s.pdf or http://www.geilofjellandsby.no/docs/Hallingdolen_leder3_3_09.pdf (retrieved February 11, 2009).