Social innovations and sustainability of tourism: Insights from public sector in Kemi,Finland

Abstract

This article proposes new insights on sustainability of tourism through social innovations. The underlying aim is to find practical ways to enhance sustainability in and through tourism, as sustainability has been criticized for its abstract nature. The marginally studied relationship of sustainability of tourism and social innovations is explored by utilizing ethnographic data on tourism, which is expected to grow in Kemi, Finland. Two examined examples of social innovations—related to social inclusion, employment, and using waste food—offer insights for tourism by bringing out non-traditional public sector perspectives and novel, multi-sectoral grass-root initiatives for coping with societal challenges at the local level. This paper suggests that sustainability of tourism can be informed through social innovations as cooperative processes, which respond to local needs and create novel solutions and social and other value at the destination. It is discussed how insights from social innovations can widen the understanding of what constitutes a tourism stakeholder, bring in the holistic, multi-sectoral dimensions of sustainability, and provide examples on the use of collaborative spaces for practical tourism planning.

Keywords

collaborative space holistic multi-sectoral social innovations stakeholders sustainability tourism tourism planning

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

Aall

(2014) ‘Sustainable Tourism in Practice: Promoting or Perverting the Quest for a Sustainable Development?’, Sustainability 6: 2562–83.

Alegre

Berbegal-Mirabent

(2016) ‘Social Innovation Success Factors: Hospitality and Tourism Social Enterprises’, International Journal of Contemporary Hospitality Management 28(6): 1155–76.

Anheier

H. K.

Krlev

Mildenberger

(2019) Social Innovation: Comparative Perspectives. New York, USA; Oxon, UK: Routledge.

Ashworth

Page

S. J.

(2011) ‘Urban Tourism Research: Recent Progress and Current Paradoxes’, Tourism Management 32: 1–15.

Bell

(2015) ‘Tourists Infiltrating Authentic Domestic Space at Balinese Home Cooking Schools’, Tourist Studies 15(1): 86–100.

Bezzola

Lugosi

(2018) ‘Negotiating Place Through Food and Drink: Experiencing Home and Away’, Tourist Studies 18(4): 486–506.

Brannan

Rowe

Worthington

(2012) ‘Editorial for the Journal of Organizational Ethnography’, Journal of Organizational Ethnography 1(1): 5–14.

Bruttomesso

(2018) ‘Making Sense of the Square: Facing the Touristification of Public Space Through Playful Protest in Barcelona’, Tourist Studies 18(4): 467–85.

Burns

P. M.

(2004) ‘Tourism Planning’, Annals of Tourism Research 31(1): 24–43.

10.

Chell

Nicolopoulou

Karataş-özkan

(2010) ‘Social Entrepreneurship and Enterprise: International and Innovation Perspectives’, Entrepreneurship and Regional Development 22(6): 485–93.

11.

City Council of Kemi (2013) Kemin Kaupunkistrategia 2025, 25 November 2013, §148. Available at: http://www.kemi.fi/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Kaupunkistrategia_2025_ja_toimenpideohjelma.pdf (accessed 20 December 2018).

12.

City Council of Kemi (2018) Minutes of the City Council Meeting, 27 August 2018, § 91, 8–9. Available at: http://dynasty.kemi.fi/djulkaisu/cgi/DREQUEST.PHP?page=meetingitem&id=20183606-4 (accessed 20 December 2018).

13.

Diedrich

García-Buades

(2009) ‘Local Perceptions of Tourism as Indicators of Destination Decline’’, Tourism Management 30: 512–21.

14.

Eichler

Schwarz

(2019) ‘What Sustainable Development Goals Do Social Innovations Address? A Systematic Review and Content Analysis of Social Innovation Literature’, Sustainability 11(2): 522–18.

15.

Experience365 (2019a) Icebreaker Sampo. Available at: http://www.experience365.fi/icebreaker-cruises/ (accessed 27 November 2019).

16.

Experience365 (2019b) Kemi SnowCastle. Available at: http://www.experience365.fi/snowcastle/ (accessed 26 November 2019).

17.

Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (2019) Unemployed Young People, as % of Labour Force Aged 18–24. Available at: https://sotkanet.fi/sotkanet/en/taulukko/?indicator=szaKAgA=®ion=szYMBAA=&year=sy6rAgA=&gender=t&abs=f&color=f&buildVersion=3.0-SNAPSHOT&buildTimestamp=202103120740 (accessed 17 December 2019).

18.

Gill

(2004) ‘Tourism Communities and Growth Management’’, pp. 569–83 in Lew

A. A.

Hall

C. M.

Williams

A. M.

(eds) A Companion to Tourism. Malden, Oxford, Carlton: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

19.

Gollagher

Hartz-Karp

(2013) ‘The Role of Deliberative Collaborative Governance in Achieving Sustainable Cities’, Sustainability 5: 2343–66.

20.

Grimwood

, S. R. (2015) ‘Advancing Tourism’s Moral Morphology: Relational Metaphors for Just and Sustainable Arctic Tourism’, Tourist Studies 15(1): 3–26.

21.

Grimwood

Catan

, R. K. (2017) ‘Pausing at the Intersections of Tourism Moralities and Mobilities: Some Neighborhood History and a Traffic Report’, Tourist Studies 17(1): 3–16.

22.

Haigh

Griffiths

(2009) ‘The Natural Environment as a Primary Stakeholder: The Case of Climate Change’, Business Strategy and the Environment 18: 347–59.

23.

Hall

C. M.

(2007) ‘Tourism, Governance and the (Mis-)location of Power’, pp. 247–68 in Church

Coles

(eds) Tourism, Power and Space. London, UK; New York, USA: Routledge.

24.

Hall

C. M.

Page

S. J.

(2006) The Geography of Tourism and Recreation. London, New York: Routledge.

25.

Hölsgens

(2016) ‘On the Importance of Power Struggles in the Diffusion of Social Innovations’, European Public & Social Innovation Review 1(2): 63–72.

26.

Huijbens

E. H.

Jóhannesson

G. T.

(2019) ‘Tending to Destinations: Conceptualising Tourism’s Transformative Capacities’, Tourist Studies 19(3): 279–94.

27.

Ilie

E. G.

During

(2012) An Analysis of Social Innovation Discourses in Europe – Concepts and Strategies of Social Innovation. Report, Wageningen University and Research, The Netherlands. Available at: https://edepot.wur.nl/197565 (accessed 10 December 2018).

28.

Kehittämisosasto (2019) Katsaus Kemin ja Kemi-Tornio-seudun Kehitykseen 1/2019. Available at: http://www.kemi.fi/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/katsaus-tammikuu-2019.pdf (accessed 17 December 2019).

29.

Kohlbacher

(2006) ‘The Use of Qualitative Content Analysis in Case Study Research’, Forum Qualitative Sozialforschung/Forum: Qualitative Social Research 7(1): 1–30.

30.

Kohtaamo (2019) Kohtaamo-hanke. Available at: https://www.ely-keskus.fi/web/kohtaamo (accessed 9 August 2021).

31.

Ladkin

(2011) ‘Exploring Tourism Labor’, Annals of Tourism Research 38(3): 1135–55.

32.

Leiper

(2004) Tourism Management. Sydney, Australia: Pearson Hospitality Press.

33.

Lenzen

Sun

Y. Y.

Faturay

, et al. (2018) ‘The Carbon Footprint of Global Tourism’, Nature Climate Change 8: 522–8.

34.

Liu

Wall

(2006) ‘Planning Tourism Employment: A Developing Country Perspective’, Tourism Management 27(1): 159–70.

35.

Ludvig

Weiss

Sarkki

, et al. (2018) ‘Mapping European and Forest Related Policies Supporting Social Innovation for Rural Settings’, Forest Policy and Economics 97: 146–52.

36.

Malek

Costa

(2015) ‘Integrating Communities into Tourism Planning Through Social Innovation’, Tourism Planning & Development 12(3): 281–99.

37.

Manniche

Topsø

Larsen

R. B.

Broegaard , et al. (2019) Destination: A Circular Tourism Economy – a Handbook for Transitioning Toward a Circular Economy Within the Tourism and Hospitality Sectors in the South Baltic Region. Nexoe, Denmark: Centre for Regional & Tourism Research.

38.

Mihalic

(2016) ‘Sustainable-Responsible Tourism Discourse – Towards ‘Responsustable’ Tourism’, Journal of Cleaner Production 111: 461–70.

39.

Millard

(2018) ‘How Social Innovation Underpins Sustainable Development’, pp. 41–3 in Howaldt

Kaletka

Schröder

, et al. (eds) Atlas of Social Innovation: New Practices for a Better Future. Dortmund, Germany: Sozialforschungsstelle, TU Dortmund University.

40.

Moscardo

Murphy

(2014) ‘There Is No Such Thing as Sustainable Tourism: Re-conceptualizing Tourism as a Tool for Sustainability’, Sustainability 6: 2538–61.

41.

Mosedale

Voll

(2017) ‘Social Innovations in Tourism: Social Practices Contributing to Social Development’, pp. 1–13 in Sheldon

P. J.

Daniele

(eds) Social Entrepreneurship and Tourism: Philosophy and Practice. Cham, Switzerland: Springer.

42.

Moulaert

(2009) ‘Social Innovation: Institutionally Embedded, Territorially (Re)Produced’, pp. 11–23 in MacCallum

Moulaert

Hillier

, et al. (eds) Social Innovation and Territorial Development. Farnham, UK; Burlington, USA: Ashgate Publishing Limited.

43.

Murray

Caulier-Grice

Mulgan

(2010) The Open Book of Social Innovation. Vol. 24. London, UK: Nesta.

44.

Nelson

Matthews

A. L.

(2018) ‘Foreign Presents or Foreign Presence? Resident Perceptions of Australian and Chinese Tourists in Niseko, Japan’, Tourist Studies 18(2): 213–31.

45.

Nyaupane

G. P.

Poudel

(2011) ‘Linkages Among Biodiversity, Livelihood, and Tourism’, Annals of Tourism Research 38(4): 1344–66.

46.

OECD/Eurostat (2019) Oslo Manual 2018: Guidelines for Collecting, Reporting and Using Data on Innovation. The Measurement of Scientific, Technological and Innovation Activities. Paris/Eurostat, Luxembourg: OECD Publishing.

47.

Otto

Smith

R. C.

(2013) ‘Design Anthropology: A Distinct Style of Knowing’, pp. 1–29 in Gunn

Otto

Smith

R. C.

(eds) Design Anthropology: Theory and Practice. Sydney, Australia; New York, USA: Bloomsbury Academic.

48.

Phi

G. T.

Dredge

(2019) ‘Collaborative Tourism-Making: An Interdisciplinary Review of Co-creation and a Future Research Agenda’, Tourism Recreation Research 44(3): 284–99.

49.

Pink

(2012) Situating Everyday Life. London, Thousand Oaks, New Delhi, Singapore: SAGE Publications Ltd.

50.

Reed

M. S. A.

Graves Dandy , et al. (2009) ‘Who’s in and Why? A Typology of Stakeholder Analysis Methods for Natural Resource Management’, Journal of Environmental Management 90: 1933–49.

51.

Reid

D. G.

Mair

George

(2004) ‘Community Tourism Planning’, Annals of Tourism Research 31(3): 623–39.

52.

Richards

Hall

D. R.

(2000) Tourism and Sustainable Community Development. London, UK: Routledge.

53.

Ruokamo

Leinonen

Korpela

(2016) Kemistä Lapin Ympärivuotisen Matkailun Ykköskohde, Matkailun Kasvuohjelma 2016-2020. Available at: http://docplayer.fi/21241874-Kemista-lapin-ymparivuotisen-matkailun-ykkoskohde.html (accessed 20 December 2018).

54.

Saarinen

(2003) ‘The Regional Economics of Tourism in Northern Finland: The Socio-Economic Implications of Recent Tourism Development and Future Possibilities for Regional Development’, Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism 3(2): 91–113.

55.

Saarinen

(2006) ‘Traditions of Sustainability in Tourism Studies’, Annals of Tourism Research 33(4): 1121–40.

56.

Saarinen

(2013) ‘Critical Sustainability: Setting the Limits to Growth and Responsibility in Tourism’, Sustainability 6: 1–17.

57.

Saarinen

Tervo

(2010) ‘Sustainability and Emerging Awareness of a Changing Climate – the Tourism Industry’s Knowledge and Perceptions of Nature-Based Winter Tourism in Finland’, pp. 147–64 in Hall

C. M.

Saarinen

(eds) Tourism and Change in Polar Regions: Climate, Environments and Experiences. London, UK: Routledge.

58.

Salvatore

Chiodo

Fantini

(2018) ‘Tourism Transition in Peripheral Rural Areas: Theories, Issues and Strategies’, Annals of Tourism Research 68: 41–51.

59.

Sarkki

Ficko

Miller

, et al. (2019a) ‘Human Values as Catalysts and Consequences of Social Innovations’, Forest Policy and Economics 104: 33–44.

60.

Sarkki

Parpan

Melnykovych

, et al. (2019b) ‘Beyond Participation! Social Innovations Facilitating Movement From Authoritative State to Participatory Forest Governance in Ukraine’, Landscape Ecology 34: 1601–18.

61.

Sharpley

(2009) Tourism Development and the Environment: Beyond Sustainability? London, UK: Earthscan.

62.

Sheldon

P. J.

Daniele

(2017) Social Entrepreneurship and Tourism. Cham, Switzerland: Springer International Publishing.

63.

Smeral

(2010) ‘Impacts of the World Recession and Economic Crisis on Tourism: Forecasts and Potential Risks’, Journal of Travel Research 49(1): 31–8.

64.

Starik

(1995) ‘Should Trees Have Managerial Standing? Toward Stakeholder Status for Non-human Nature’, Journal of Business Ethics 14: 207–17.

65.

Statistics Finland (2018) Population of Kemi 2018. Available at: http://pxnet2.stat.fi/PXWeb/pxweb/en/StatFin/StatFin__vrm%20__muutl/statfin_muutl_pxt_11ae.px/table/tableViewLayout1/ (accessed 28 August 2019).

66.

Steurer

(2007) ‘From Government Strategies to Strategic Public Management: An Exploratory Outlook on the Pursuit of Cross-Sectoral Policy Integration’, European Environment 17: 201–14.

67.

Tervo-Kankare

(2011) ‘Christmas Tourism in the Light of Chancing Climate’, pp. 119–27 in Nuttall

Strauss

Tervo-Kankare

(eds) Society, Environment and Place in Northern Regions. Oulu, Finland: Uniprint Oy.

68.

Tuazon

Corder

McLellan

(2013) ‘Sustainable Development: A Review of Theoretical Contributions’, International Journal of Sustainable Future for Human Security 1(1): 40–8.

69.

Visit Finland (2019) Matkailun Suuralueet – LAPPI. Available at: http://www.visitfinland.fi/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/Matkailun-suuralueet-LAPPI.pdf?dl (accessed 10 January 2019).

70.

Voorberg

W. H. V.

(2015) ‘A Systematic Review of Co-creation and Co-production – Embarking on the Social Innovation Journey’’, Public Management Review 17(9): 1333–57.

71.

Walker

Chen

K. G.

, Y. (2019) ‘Social Innovation in Tourism: Unleashing the Time-Money Constraint’, Journal of the Knowledge Economy 10(4): 1700–19.

72.

Watson

T. J.

(2012) ‘Making Organisational Ethnography’, Journal of Organizational Ethnography 1(1): 15–22.

73.

World CommissiOn on Environment And Development (1987) Our Common Future. Report edn. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.

74.

World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2019a) International Tourist Arrivals Reach 1.4 billion Two Years Ahead of Forecasts. Available at: https://www.unwto.org/global/press-release/2019-01-21/international-tourist-arrivals-reach-14-billion-two-years-ahead-forecasts (accessed 23 August 2019).

75.

World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) (2019b) Sustainable Development. Available at: https://www.unwto.org/sustainable-development (accessed 20 August 2019).

76.

Yanow

(2012) ‘Organizational Ethnography Between Toolbox and world-making’, Journal of Organizational Ethnography 1(1): 31–42.

77.

Yle Uutiset (2019) Alueen Yritykset Ovat Pettyneet Kemin Matkailu Oy:n Toimintaan – Yhteistyötä Varjostaa Luottamuspula. Available at: https://yle.fi/uutiset/3-11083107 (accessed 26 November 2019).

78.

Øian

Fredman

Sandell

, et al. (2018) Tourism, Nature and Sustainability: A Review of Policy Instruments in the Nordic Countries. Rosendahls, Denmark: Temanord.