Discover the achievements of the 2014-2020 NPA projects
Seven years of cooperation between people, communities, and organisations across thousands of kilometres made a difference in the Northern Periphery and Arctic regions.
Browse the NPA map of results to discover our stories of cooperation. Pick a dot from the map and scroll down to read about people who have met similar minded colleagues and together found solutions for their shared challenges.
Use the +/- buttons in the top left corner of the map to zoom in/out or click on the regions to display the NPA project stories.
Authentic, and respectful tourism in the Arctic
Developing culturally sensitive tourism in the Arctic
With the growing numbers of tourists exploring the Arctic, tourism-oriented start-ups and SMEs are looking for the ways how to offer visitors an authentic cultural experience while respecting the locals and their traditions. The ARCTISEN project explored the concept of culturally sensitive tourism and compiled tools to help tourism-oriented SMEs better understand what cultural sensitivity is and how to use it in developing tourism products and services, that are respecting the local culture and people. Moving from theory to practice, the project organised 5 benchmarking trips across the Arctic to exchange knowledge in tourism product development, innovation, culture, storytelling, and examples of culturally sensitive businesses, like for example Saami Duodji Shop in Inari and others in Finland.
Photo credit: Duodji shop in Inari, Mauri Lähdesmäki
Katariina Guttorm
Sámi Duodji AssociationMy understanding of culturally sensitive tourism has not changed because of the project, I had a clear idea of it already before the project. The project has, however, shown me what others think of it. I have noticed that it is not clear to everybody what it is. Some display culture in ways I find inappropriate.