The 10th MMV Conference: Managing outdoor recreation experiences in the Anthropocene – Resources, markets, innovations

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MINA fagrapport 73

The 10th MMV Conference:

Managing outdoor recreation

experiences in the Anthropocene – Resources, markets, innovations

Øystein Aas, Monica Breiby, Sofie K. Selvaag, Per-Ambjørn Eriksson, Brigithe Børrestad (editors)

2021

ISSN 2535-2806

Norwegian University of Life Sciences

Faculty of Environmental Sciences and Natural Resource Management

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Aas, Ø., Breiby, M., Selvaag, S.K., Eriksson, P-A, Børrestad, B. (eds.) 2021. The 10th MMV Conference: Managing outdoor recreation experiences in the Anthropocene – Resources, markets, innovations. – MINA fagrapport 73. 418 pp.

Ås, Norway, August 2021 ISSN: 2535-2806

COPYRIGHT

The publication may be freely cited where the source is acknowledged

AVAILABILITY

Open

PUBLICATION TYPE

Digital document (pdf)

QUALITY CONTROLLED BY

Research dean Jan Vermaat, MINA, NMBU

tors to Recreational and Protected Areas (MMV) #10:

Managing outdoor recreation experiences in the Anthropocene – Resources, markets, innovations

Hosted from Lillehammer, Norway, 16

^th

– 19

^th

August 2021

Website: www.mmvconference.org

Hosts

Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) – www.nmbu.no

Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (HINN) – https://eng.inn.no/

Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) – www.nina.no Local Organising Committee

Professor Øystein Aas, NMBU

Associate Professor Monica A. Breiby, HINN

Researcher/Phd candidate Sofie Kjendlie Selvaag, NINA Project leader Per Eriksson, HINN

Project leader Lars Teppan Johansen, HINN Senior engineer Lars Bjarne Myhten, HINN Video/photography/webproduction Jan Olav Angell Nordskog, HINN Alexander Eriksson, HINN Amund Lie, Hydrophobic AS Terje Gording Hong, Lydmaker.no

Artist-in-residence: Hildegunn Øiseth, www.hildegunn.com

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4 Main Sponsors

Innlandet County Council – www.innlandetfylke.no

The Norwegian Environment Agency – www.miljodirektoratet.no The Research Council of Norway – https://www.forskningsradet.no/en/

The research project “BioTour” – https://www.nmbu.no/biotour

Sponsors and cooperating institutions Norsk friluftsliv – www.norskfriluftsliv.no

Friluftsrådenes Landsforbund – www.friluftsrad.no Lillehammer Museum – Maihaugen www.maihaugen.no Visit Lillehammer – www.visitlillehammer.no

Lillehammer kommune – www.lillehammer.kommune.no Lillehammer Olympiapark – www.olympiaparken.no Norsk Villreinsenter – www.villrein.no

Birken AS – https://www.birkebeiner.no/no

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5 International Steering Committee for the MMV Conferences

Tetsuya Aikoh Hokkaido University Japan

Arne Arnberger University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Austria

Robert Burns West Virginia University USA

Jeoffrey Dehez National Research Institute of Science and Technology Bordeaux, France Don English United States Department of Agriculture, Forest Service USA

Peter Fredman Mid-Sweden University Östersund, Sweden

(chair)

Martin Goossen Wageningen University and Research Centre Alterra, The Nether- lands

Marcel Hunziker Institute for Forest, Snow & Landscape Research Switzerland

Yu-Fai Leung North Carolina State University USA

Teresa Magro University of Sao Paulo Brasil

Andreas Muhar University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Austria

Catherine Pickering Griffith University Australia

Ulrike Pröbstl University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences Vienna, Austria

Mart Reimann University of Tallinn Estonia

Dominik Siegrist University of Applied Sciences Rapperswil Switzerland

Liisa Tyrväinen Natural Resources Institute Finland

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Introduction

As part of the final sessions at the successful MMV9, in Bordeaux, France in 2018, the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU) and its partners the Inland Norway University of Applied Sciences (HINN) and the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA) were granted the role of hosting the 10^th MMV conference in 2020. An eager organisation started working already late 2018 with the preparations chaired by Professor Jan Vidar Haukeland, who later retired from NMBU and therefore stepped down as the conference chair. Little did we know at that time about the challenges the globe would face a year later. A website was established, and we started marketing the conference while arrangements and contracts were signed at the venue, which was selected to be Lilleham- mer, Inland Norway, near many of Norway’s iconic national parks, and a former Olympic host city. We planned excursions, receptions, poster sessions and different choices of accommodation, as well as post-conference tours.

A number of highly relevant session proposals were received and approved.

When Covid-19 suddenly appeared in March 2020, it soon proved that the planning for the time being was of little use. It became rather soon clear that we could not host and complete MMV10 as we had planned in August 2020. In close communication with the international steering group for the MMV conferences, the natural decision was to postpone the conference to August 2021, with the aim of hosting it as planned – as a physical conference in Lillehammer. Our partners and sponsors were understanding and supportive of our decisions which of course made all changes easier. During the autumn of 2020, we were hopeful that we could complete the conference as originally planned. This was until we saw the second and third Covid-19 waves growing in the late autumn and winter 2020/2021. In January 2021, we decided, again in close dialogue with the international steering committee, to plan for a digital conference. When this decision was taken, it was full speed ahead. While we were anxious about the response from potential contributors and participants, we were happy and relieved when deadlines started to come closer and we witnessed strong interest from participants and contributors. As we go into the final weeks of preparations, MMV10 seems to attract the largest number of accepted abstracts for presentations, as well as the highest ever number of participants. Around 180 abstracts and nearly 300 participants from more than 30 countries have registered.

The pandemic caused by Covid-19 has hit the nature-based tourism sector severely, while at the same time nature, often near people’s homes, has proved to be immensely important as a refuge and place for retreat from a monotonous life where many have experienced lock-ins. The pandemic lead to the closure of many other leisure activities and offerings, as well as organised sports, leaving outdoor life as one of the few alternatives to being indoors and at home. A true crisis but also a possibility to seek new ways towards a more sustainable use of natural areas.

On this background, the theme for the MMV10 - Managing outdoor recreation experiences in the Anthro- pocene – Resources, markets, innovations – is maybe even more relevant now than when it was coined in 2018. It might be argued that global pandemics is a direct and severe consequence of the Anthropocene, which urgently calls for better management, improved protection of the natural resources that form the basis for tourism and recreation, true innovations and new ways of handling these challenges. Due to the pandemic, the conference has added a voluminous session dealing specifically with the consequences of Covid-19.

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Hosting conferences in the midst of a global pandemic is also economically challenging. The organisers are most thankful to all our sponsors for their enduring support and trust in our dynamic, changing plans! Thank you, especially to our main sponsors Innlandet County Council, the Norwegian Environment Agency and the Norwegian Research Council. We also feel sorry for all the local accommodation- and service businesses in and around Lillehammer, which cancelled all our pre-bookings without any complaints, despite they are living through challenging times. Hopefully, there will be opportunities later.

We, the hosts, are eager to start MMV10, but also rather excited and nervous looking forward to the event. Running a full-digital international conference is something new to most of us, even though our technical personnel have gained much experience over the last 12 months. While we look forward to everything, we also want to remind all participants that scientific conferences are what you make out of them, the more active you are, the larger will the benefits be, in terms of ideas, insights, knowledge and new networks! We encourage all participants and contributors to join in the co-creation!

See you soon!

Øystein Aas

Monica Adele Breiby Conference co-chairs

Disclaimer

This report is finalised 6^th August 2021. Minor changes in the List of Participants as well as slight changes to the overall abstract program might occur between 6^h August 2021 and the conference. These changes will be available on the website: https://virtual.oxfordabstracts.com/#/event/2084/program. In case of differences for instance in number of presentations, sessions, presentation order, it is always the website which is updated and should be followed.

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185 Weather sensitivity of visitation to Protected Natural Areas: Establishing trends and trajectories in a time of changing climate. ... 352 165 Climate change: impacts on outdoor activities in the summer and shoulder seasonsin Austria - lessons learned. ... 354 120 Threats to natural world heritage sites from visitors, climate change and transportation: A management perspective ... 356 16 Zero impact nature-based tourism ... 358 109 The influence of wildfire and smoke on recreation visitation and behavior ... 360 119 Nature-based tourism and renewable energy infrastructure: tourism industry’s perceptions of the impact area of power plants on tourism... 362 90 Exposure, meanings and landscape-technology fit. A hierarchical analysis of people’s preferences towards landscape related energy scenarios and what they are based on ... 364 158 Climate change and the demand for recreational ecosystem services on public lands in the United States ... 366

Recreation and tourism impact on landscape and wildlife ... 368 182 Understanding the impacts of road and aircraft noise on avian species richness in Milford Sound, Fiordland National Park, New Zealand: A proposed methodology ... 370 145 Nature-based sports events and natural and protected areas in Portugal. A geographic mapping approach ... 372 150 Effects of mountain biking versus hiking on trails under different environmental conditions ... 374 126 Development of vegetation and soil impacts on trails and campsites in a Norwegian National Park during 30 years:

Worse or better? ... 376 69 Monitoring soil erosion on campsites by structure-from-motion photogrammetry: A case study of the current and former Kuro-Dake Campsite in Daisetsuzan National Park, Japan ... 378 78 Monitoring and predicting trail erosion in Daisestuzan National Park in Japan ... 380

Visitor strategy and local community development ... 382 99 Efforts to improve sustainable tourism and environment sustainability: understanding from local people’s perspective in Sagarmatha National Park and Buffer Zone, Nepal Himalaya ... 384 123 Where green is greener? Multi-data approach for typology of urban green spaces ... 386 128 Intentional and incidental nature experiences in urban nature ... 388 189 Tradition and destination: Socio-ecological sustainability and the host-visitor interface in second-home development in Norway ... 390 53 Visitor management as a tool to develop sustainable local communities Experiences from pilot project in Nordland, Norway 2018-2021 ... 392 179 Integrated visitor management. The Norwegian regional parks as integration actors ... 394 51 Local spatial planning as tool for integrated visitor strategies and community development ... 396 161 Creating synergies between nature-based tourism and local community development through enhanced dialogue processes. ... 398

The sharing economy – Supply, demand and consequences ... 400 21 Sharing in the context of nature-based tourism ... 402 46 The sharing economy in the context of outdoor recreation and nature-based tourism in Innlandet County, Norway .. 404

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76 Customer-focused drivers in the sharing economy: A meta-analysis ... 406 22 Actor role-resource interactions in emerging sharing-economy businesses: A case study from Danish sharing-economy entrepreneurs ... 408 List of Participants ... 410

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Plenary keynote presentations

SESSION PART DATE TIME CHAIRS

1 I Monday 16^th August 15.00 – 17.00 CET Øystein Aas & Monica Breiby 2 II Tuesday 17^th August 12.00 – 14.00 CET Marit Roland & Øystein Aas

3 III Wednesday 18^th August 12.00 – 14.00 CET Hans Fredrik Hoen & Monica Breiby 4 IV Thursday 19^th August 15.00 – 16.00 CET Monica Breiby, Jon Museth &

Øystein Aas

Programme

Part I Human-wildlife interactions: The challenge of monitoring socio-ecological dimensions in Norwegian National Parks by Dr. Vegard Gundersen

Overtourism in Iceland: Myth or reality? by Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir

Part II The Anthropocene and what it means for managing outdoor recreation experiences by Prof. James Higham

The impacts of the pandemic on tourism in protected and recreational areas by Dr Anna Spenceley Part “Friluftsliv“ (outdoor life): Sustainability, trust and social inclusion by Dag Terje Solvang

III The need for Local Community Resilience in Sustainable Tourism by Judy Kepher Gona

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Human-wildlife interactions: The challenge of monitoring socio-ecological dimensions in Norwegian National Parks

Dr. Vegard Gundersen, Norwegian Institute for Nature Research Habitat loss, fragmentation, and degradation are the

principal threats to biodiversity worldwide. In addi- tion to the direct changes to the habitat caused by human activity, the mere presence of humans can prevent wildlife from accessing otherwise intact patches of habitat. This is exemplified by a wide- ranging species, wild reindeer (Rangifer tarandus tarandus) in Norway. During winter, reindeer rely on lichens that are both vulnerable for wear and slow to regenerate. In summer months, the reindeer follow the retreating snowpack as they seek greener vegetation and insect-free calving pastures. The wild reindeer is a challenging species to manage. It is adapted to survive in a mountain environment with extremely variable foraging conditions that require extensive seasonal movements. Human development of different kind of infrastructure, combined with increased human presence in their environment, mainly for for recreational purposes, have created an ever-changing disturbance regime. To monitor the human use component in this context, include the metrics of visitors’ spatial extent, temporal extent and variability, volume, type of activity and characteristics.

Marked trails between tourist cabins are the most common infrastructure within wild reindeer ranges, and trail systems often transect large remote areas in such a way that that wild reindeer herds are forced to cross marked trails frequently. The key question is: what level of human disturbance can reindeer herds tolerate, in terms of user numbers per unit of time, before the reindeer movements are either severely hampered or cease altogether? The human use of trails within a wild reindeer range in- evitably varies considerably during the summer peak tourist season. Some trail segments see as few as 1 person/day, while other segments have more than 500 person/day. The intensity of use can also vary considerably between different types of trails or paths and the terrain they cross. NINA uses several different methods to collect data on the spatiotem- poral pattern of human presence in large mountain areas where use is widely dispersed: automatic counters (TrafX, EcoCounter), GPS surveys (Trackstics),

asking visitors to draw their trips on a map, system- atic moment observations, mobility bigdata (e.g. the Strava training smartphone app), and different kinds of secondary data. This talk will address these methods and give examples of potential methodological biases.

Our findings from monitoring the effects of visitors in seven wild reindeer ranges revealed that the human footprint and the disturbance effects on reindeer is much larger in summertime than winter- time: a function of both the volume and patterns of human activity and inter-seasonal changes in reindeer behavior. We found a large-scale area segrega- tion between humans and reindeer during the summer season when human activity is greatest, as wild reindeer move to areas less prone to disturbance by humans. We identified threshold values for animals’

willingness to cross hiking trails in summer: herds started avoiding crossing hiking trails used by more than 10–15 persons per day and stopped crossing trails when visitor volumes exceeded 30–50 persons per day. During the hunting season in the fall, reindeer herds were more dispersed and animals were willing to cross hiking trails independent of visitor volume—indicating a collective flight response to hunters.

The intensity of human activities (e.g. tourist volume), and the density of infrastructure (e.g. density of trails and mountain cottages) are crucial to understand how reindeer movements respond to anthropogenic features in the landscape. Multiple sources of human disturbance interact to produce cumulative impacts, which manifest in both habitat loss and fragmentation. Our research team has de- veloped a multi-step analytical framework to quantify cumulative impacts and guide sustainable land planning and management. We applied this approach to reindeer GPS data collected form more than a decade in the major herds across Norway to:

1) quantify reindeer habitat’s functionality (i.e. areas that are simultaneously of high-quality and well-con- nected) and the movement corridors between func- tional areas; 2) quantify the human footprint, or the

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Management of backcountry hiking areas primarily concerns trail use, since most visitors to national parks utilize the marked trails. Trail restrictions and manipulation of the trail infrastructure (i.e. re- routing trail corridors or removing mountain cabins) can have effects on the volume of cabin-to-cabin trekking, the number of foreign visitors, visitors’ gen- der balance, and number of first-time visitors. Simi- larly, the kind of area use restrictions (which can vary in both space and time) can impact or potentially provoke visitors differently, depending on the characteristics of the visitors’ demographics and the activities they pursue. For example, areas subject to restrictions might have consequences primarily for local users, such as farmers who are tending to grazing herds of domestic sheep and residents of adjacent municipalities who are pursuing substitute harvest- ing (i.e. hunting, fishing, berry-picking etc.). Alterna- tively, areas might also be visited by wilderness seek- ers who have travelled considerable distances to reach the park and mainly use the off-trail areas.

Understanding visitors’ motives, experiences, preferences, and sensitivity to management- generated information about responsible behaviour in reindeer areas can help managers design information strategies that are better able to direct

human activity in environmentally friendly direc- tions. We used short questionnaires distributed at self-registration checkpoints (located in combination with automatic counters at parks’ main entrances) or QR-code to collect information about user profiles and the purpose of their visit, as well as asking them to draw a map of their route. We also asked visitors for their email address so that we could send them a more comprehensive web-based questionnaire after the visit. Our results illustrate how visitors’ characteristics can differ based on which park entrance they use and the activity they pursue, reflecting var- iation in demography, nationality, frequency of visit- ing the location, knowledge about the area, group- size, and presence of children—as well as their preferences for landscapes, facilities and management. It is crucial to take these dimensions of park visitors into account to project the possible effects and consequences of different kinds of direct and indirect management actions in the future.

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Overtourism in Iceland: Myth or reality?

Anna Dóra Sæþórsdóttir, University of Iceland, Iceland Large influxes of tourist arrivals have become a major challenge in recent years for many nature-based destinations. Seasonality, uneven spatial distribution and imbalance between supply and demand are commonly pointed out as part of the problem. In recent years the concept of overtourism has emerged in that context in the media and increasingly in aca- demia as a way of describing this situation, although the issues behind the term have been a component of visitor and tourism research for many years. Ice- land is one of the destinations which has been most associated with the concept of overtourism – at least in the international media discourse. This is a reflec- tion of the enormous increase in international tourist arrivals the country has received in the last decade.

In 2010 the number of international visitors to Ice- land was about 460,000, by 2018 it had reached approximately 2.3 million, representing an annual aver- age increase of about 22%. Iceland is the most sparsely populated country in Europe, with about 370,000 inhabitants on an island little over one hundred thousand square kilometers. Iceland’s main tourist attraction is nature, with its perceived wilderness landscape. There are a few tourist hotspots on the island, which up to half of all international tourists visit. This has resulted in crowding at the most popular destinations which in turn has led to a de- crease in the quality of the tourist experience, over- loaded infrastructure, damage at nature destinations and shifts in the perceived nature of the Icelandic landscape.

This presentation provides an overview of the different ways in which overtourism has revealed itself at a national level in Iceland. It is both based on a primary and secondary data analysis strategy. Fur- thermore, it is based on longitudinal research conducted on tourists’ experience of overcrowding at various nature destinations in Iceland over 20 years.

During this time span, over 43,000 questionnaires were completed and in-depth interviews were conducted with several hundred tourists. This allows for a detailed empirical assessment to be made of changes in visitor attitudes, experiences, perceptions and satisfaction with specific locations in Iceland and the development of a broader understanding of Ice- land as a nature-based tourism destination over time. The latter includes changes in the make-up of tourist attributes and shifts in the management challenges nature-based destinations are facing from tourism. Finally, Iceland’s various responses to its success as a major nature tourist destination will be discussed.

Early 2020, there were speculations if the party was over as the number of international tourist arrivals in Iceland had decreased more than 15% from the pre- vious year. While this degrowth was highly appreci- ated by some, it worried others, not least the tourism industry. For them questions arose, including whether this meant that Iceland was not on the

“bucket list” anymore? Did the island become too re- nowned or fashionable? Coincidentally, with the emergence of the Covid-19 pandemic overtourism in Iceland was truly over, at least for a while. The summer of 2021 looks promising, and the tourism industry has high hopes for bouncing back quickly. While it is unclear whether this means that the country is on its way to becoming plagued by overtourism (again), the example of Iceland underlines the im- portance of long-term visitor research through longitudinal studies. It stresses the relevance of address- ing the questions of how we can understand the nature of change in destinations and how research should be best communicated at a time when nature and wilderness are facing more challenges than ever from tourism and environmental change.

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The Anthropocene and what it means for managing outdoor recreation experiences

Prof. James Higham, Department of Tourism, University of Otago, Aotearoa (New Zealand) The global COVID-19 pandemic has, first and fore-

most, been a widespread human tragedy. It has also been a global social and economic circuit-breaker.

The disruption that it has caused has been all em- bracing, and from this has emerged a fleeting opportunity to rethink all aspects of environment, society and economy. In the context of tourism and recreation, the current crisis has been widely recognised as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to ‘build back better’ and, in doing so, to try to address fundamental global environmental challenges.

Twenty years ago, at the dawn of the new millennium Crutzen and Stoermer’s (2000) article

‘The Anthropocene’ argued that the Holocene had ended and a new epoch, for which humankind is responsible, had begun. Anthropogenic climate change, pollution, species extinction, exhaustion of soils, over-exploitation of resources, and population growth were seen as evidence of the Anthropocene.

The concept of the Anthropocene has become prom- inent in the tourism and recreation literature. Many of the central rationales for the Anthropocene – such as climate change, resources depletion, and pollution – are also central concerns associated with pre- COVID growth in tourism and recreation. If our species is a geological force and the impacts are of tourism and recreation are geophysical in scope, this

significantly increases the ethical stakes associated with our fields of scholarship.

To begin, I will frame my presentation with an initial discussion and critique of the Anthropocene and what it means. In this discussion the locus of responsibility is important. It is necessary to question how particular topics of debate come to the fore and who stands to benefit from how public issues are framed. Visions of tourism and recreation development are interwoven with assumptions regarding who stands to benefit and who will bear the costs associated with those benefits.

I will use this critique to consider two of the most fundamental environmental challenges con- fronting tourism and recreation scholarship; carbon emissions and biodiversity loss. I will draw upon the emerging ‘regenerative tourism’ paradigm to consider how tourism and recreation can contribute to restoring and regenerating rather than depleting natural capital, while simultaneously building social, cultural and economic capital. This discussion has important implications for tourism and recreation, in terms of pathways forward in the quest for practices that respond with urgency to the these global environmental imperatives. This presentation will be il- lustrated with emerging examples from Aotearoa (New Zealand).

References

Crutzen, P. J. & Stoermer, E. F. (2000). The “Anthropocene.” The International Geosphere–Biosphere Programme. Newsletter, 41, 17–18.

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The impacts of the pandemic on tourism in protected and recreational areas

Dr Anna Spenceley, Chair, IUCN World Commission on Protected Areas (WCPA) Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group; Director, Global Sustainable Tourism Council

What impacts has COVID-19 pandemic had on na- ture-based tourism in Africa?

Before the COVID-19 pandemic, over a third of all direct tourism contributions to gross domestic product (GDP) in Africa, and 8.8 million jobs were attributed to wildlife tourism globally in 2018 (1). The UN World Tourism Organisation estimates that entrance, gate and park fees from all types of protected areas in 14 sub-Saharan African countries were estimated US$

142 million per year (2).

However, COVID-19 has caused a systemic shock to the tourism sector. A survey by the Kenyan government estimated a loss of US$ 750 million in tourism revenues and a reduction of almost 1.3 million jobs due to the pandemic. More than 81% of tourism companies have reduced staff and 85% have made pay cuts (3). The nature-based tourism sector has been hit hard by travel restrictions, with severe seismic repercussions for conservation and local live- lihoods (see Figure 1).

Innovation - what’s being done to help with the re- covery?

As the coronavirus pandemic progressed, its trans- mission became better understood, and many

countries introduced safety precautions to reduce the disease risk for visitors and hosts. New tools include the WTTC’s SafeTravels standards and the Ad- venture Travel Trade Association’s COVID-19 health and safety guidelines (5). Several countries and protected area authorities have produced information specifically for their visitors (for example, in Rwanda, South Africa) (6). A collation of this guidance devel- oped under an EU project provides information for protected areas on operating tourism amid COVID- 19 (7).

Tourism companies have needed to innovate rapidly to survive. Enterprises have diversified the types of visitor they cater to, their products and services, and their source markets to adjust to changing demand (8). Those that already had diverse products and services to offer have been more resilient as they have alternative income sources. Where tourism operations have farms or gardens on their properties, innovations have included expanding or diversifying production, and using produce to feed staff and their families. Also, virtual tours set up by protected areas and nature-based operators have received considerable traction and interest globally (9). While some of these are free for users, others are fee-based and can

Figure 1: Changes in percentage of customers and bookings due to COVID-19 among tourism operators in African protected areas (4).

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25 help offset losses in visitor revenue. Such virtual tours provide a way for people to experience natural attractions from their homes while inspiring future travel plans once restrictions are lifted.

A sustainable future

The pause in tourism has given many tourism and conservation professionals an opportunity to reflect on whether they want to go back to the way things were (10), or alternatively to ‘build back better’ and greener and recover in a more responsible, sustainable and regenerative way (11). The United Nations and international development agencies have been increasingly vocal in their support for sustainable recovery. In August 2020, UN Secretary-General António Guterres released a policy brief on COVID- 19 and transforming tourism, stating that the tourism sector should be rebuilt in a way that is “safe, eq- uitable and climate friendly [and as a] provider of

decent jobs, stable incomes and the protection of our cultural and natural heritage.” For travel and tourism to be truly sustainable, broad standards and protocols are needed to address climate change, conservation and social justice. It is also important to conserve nature in protected areas to avoid future zoonoses (12).

This is the time for the tourism sector to seize the moment and enact meaningful changes that will transform the world and make a lasting dif- ference for future generations (13). COVID-19 has ac- celerated the sustainability agenda, and amid the pause, companies are concentrating efforts on their commercial survival. Many tourism operators see becoming sustainable as too hard to do, but in reality it is not so difficult. Resources like the new “Handbook for Sustainable Tourism Practitioners: The essential toolkit” (14) can help the sector to build back in a regenerative way, with communities at the centre.

References

(1) Oxford Economics. In World Travel & Tourism Council (WTTC) (2019) ‘The Economic Impact of Global Wildlife Tourism: Travel and Tourism as an Economic Tool for the Protection of Wildlife’. (2) UNWTO (2015) Towards Measuring the Economic Value of Wildlife Watching Tourism in Africa – Briefing Paper, UNWTO, Madrid. Available at: https://www.e-un-

wto.org/doi/book/10.18111/9789284416752 (Accessed: 20 October 2020) (3) MoTW (2020) cited in African Leadership University School of Wildlife Conservation (ALUSWC) (2020) ‘The State of the Wildlife Economy in Kenya. Country case study for the State of the Wildlife Economy in Africa’. Available at: https://sowc.alueducation.com/ state-wildlife-economy-africa-report-kenya-country-case-study-pub- lished (Accessed: 12 November 2020). (4) Spenceley, A. (2021a) COVID-19 and protected area tourism: A spotlight on impacts and options in Africa. European Commission. (5) ATTA (2020) ‘Adventure Travel COVID-19 health and safety guidelines’. Available at: https://www.adventuretravel.biz/covid19guidelines/ (Accessed: 23 October 2020); WTTC (2020c) ‘Safe Travels: Global protocols and stamp for the new normal’ Available at: https://wttc.org/COVID-19/Safe-Travels-Global-Protocols-Stamp (Accessed: 23 October 2020); (6) See Spenceley, A.

(2021b) Tourism and visitation in protected areas amid COVID-19: Guidance for protected area authorities and managers’. European Commission. (7) Spenceley, A. (2021b) op. cit. (8) Adventure Travel Trade Association (ATTA) (2020) ‘Financial strategies and tactics for Adventure travel businesses during economic uncertainty’. Available at: https://www.adventuretravel.biz/research/financial-strategies- and-tactics-for-adventure-travel-businesses-during-economic-uncertainty/ (Accessed: 1 October 2020). (9) Department of Human Dimen- sions of Natural Resources (DHDNR) (2020) ‘Protected areas for all’. Webinar series part 1: Session 1A Protected area tourism beyond 2020. (Webinar). 26 August 2020. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/ watch?feature=youtu.be&v=lOKS8M35cNE&app=desktop (Accessed: 1 October 2020); Spenceley, A. (2021c) ‘The Future of Nature-based Tourism: Impacts of COVID-19 and paths to sustainability', Luc Hoffmann Institute, Available at: https://luchoffmanninstitute.org/future-nature-based-tourism-report/. (10) DestinAsian (2020) op.

cit.; Hudson, S. (2020) op. cit; Journal on Tourism and Sustainability (JTS) (2020). E3 from Overtourism to a COVID-19 immobile world.

(Webinars). Available at: http://www.ontourism.online/index.php/jots/webinars (Accessed: 12 October 2020); Tripadvisor (2020b) op.

cit. (11) See Spenceley, A. (2021c) ‘The Future of Nature-based Tourism: Impacts of COVID-19 and paths to sustainability', Luc Hoffmann Institute, Available at: https://luchoffmanninstitute.org/future-nature-based-tourism-report/. (12) Praeli, Y. S. (2020) ‘For South Amer- ica’s wilderness areas, COVID-19 brings risk and respite’. Mongabay. Available at: https://news.mongabay.com/2020/08/for-south-ameri- cas-wilderness-areas-covid-19-brings-risk-and-respite (Accessed: 14 October 2020). (13) WTTC (2020b) ‘To recovery and beyond: The future of travel & tourism in the wake of COVID-19’. September 2020. p24. Available at: https://wttc.org/Research/To-Recovery-Beyond (Accessed: 5 October 2020). (14) Spenceley, A. (ed) (2021d) ‘Sustainable tourism handbook: The essential Toolbox’, Edward Elgar, https://www.e-elgar.com/shop/gbp/handbook-for-sustainable-tourism-practitioners-9781839100888.html.

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“Friluftsliv” (outdoor life): Sustainability, trust and social inclusion

Dag Terje Solvang, Secretary General, The Norwegian Trekking Organization (DNT) The Norwegian Trekking Association (DNT) aims to

act as a responsible organization that carefully ad- dresses key challenges for social and environmental sustainability in outdoor recreation though our stra- tegic plan. This lecture will discuss and present ap- proaches to key challenges for DNT and likely also for similar NGOs across the globe.

Sustainability

Principally, DNT view our activities as essentially sustainable, and a future low-emission society will require more outdoor life, not less. Still, overconsump- tion, climate change and degradation of valuable nature are the most severe challenges of our time.

DNT’s new sustainability strategy sets overall goals for our own operations and aims to make it easier to participate in nature- and climate-friendly outdoor life. By improving operations, we aim to inspire people to make more environmental-friendly choices in their everyday lives and push decision-makers in a sustainable direction.

Trust and sharing economy

A priority ambition is that DNT’s cabin- and hiking route network must be Norway’s most sustainable holiday and leisure offering. Maybe it already is, after all, DNT has been based on sharing economy princi- ples for 150 years, long before the term was coined.

Trust is a key concept of DNT. It is actually the foun- dation for the unique system of cabins and trails. As a member of DNT, you may borrow a DNT cabin key for a deposit of NOK 100. This key fits the locks in all the 450 self-service cabins. Upon arrival, you can serve yourself food and beverage, and pay after- wards. After trekking in Norway and experiencing how this system worked, former UN Secretary Gen- eral Kofi Annan stated that ‘’this restores my faith in humanity!’’.

However, Norwegians’ total consumption is too high and is reflected in for instance the number of holiday airplane flights they take, and many have private cabins of a high standard, all of which have major impacts on the environment. It would have a positive effect if people were to choose short-

distance trips and use DNT’s cabins instead of flying abroad or acquiring their own cabins. DNT must maintain and further develop a cabin and route network based on a sharing economy, which will allow as many people as possible to enjoy the countryside in a sustainable way.

Volunteering and inclusivity

Outdoor life is an important arena for creating more inclusive societies, as well as contributing to good health and improved quality of life. DNT aims to cre- ate social meeting places that can work for everyone, and DNT is actively working to include new groups in outdoor life. This is challenging and we have a long way to go, since our operations and offerings must be inclusive for all ages and social groups and reflect current diversity in society. An important approach is to make outdoor life less expensive. To hire the equipment you need, buy secondhand and repair your own stuff are important measures both for the environment and for increased inclusivity. These offers must therefore be expanded.

Use and protection

For DNT it is also important to be a clear voice in fa- vor of outdoor interests. Every year, important natural areas are lost to development. This also has an impact on people’s ability to pursue an active outdoor life. DNT wants Norwegian nature to be both used and protected. We believe that the use of nature for simple and nature-friendly outdoor activities contributes to the enjoyment of nature and thereby to greater understanding of the need to protect it.

DNT has a privileged role in the Norwegian society, since we have cabin operations in vulnerable and protected nature areas. This entails great responsibility. As an example; 80 % of all European wild reindeer lives in Norway. This means that Norway has a special responsibility to take care of and manage wild reindeer in a way that will allow future generations to experience viable populations of the species. We do hike in the same mountain areas, and must accept that outdoor life may have a negative effect on reindeer. DNT has and will continue to work with

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27 conservation authorities to evaluate our cabins and trails network and have already relocated cabins and marked trails to reduce the conflict between wild reindeer and ourdoor recreation. This work will continue and be given even stronger emphasis in our new strategy, as human infrastructure and activity continue to put high pressure on vulnerable biodiversity.

The right to roam

Allemannsretten – the right to roam or the right of public access is an important element in Norwegian and Nordic outdoor culture and a part of our national identity. The right allows you to hike or put up your tent nearly anywhere you want. But now we see a challenge with few rules and regulations – and our right to roam is under threat from increased tourism.

When too many people hike the same path or want to put up a tent on the same beach or urban forest, it becomes challenging. To find ways to protect ‘’Al- lemannsretten’’ – and at the same time cope with increased numbers of hikers and campers in nature – will be an important issue for the next years.

‘’Friluftsliv’’ as an escape room

How could ‘’friluftsliv’’, our word for outdoor life, improve our lives even further? Facilitating outdoor life is documented as a good public health measure. The

last year has been tough for many of us. News head- lines like ‘’How ‘friluftsliv’ can help you through the pandemic’’ have been seen all over the world during the last year. DNT conducted a poll in late 2020 and found that four out of 10 Norwegians said that the outdoors had become more important to them as a result of COVID-19. Many had re-discovered their nearest forest or urban beach. Local outdoor activities have always been important for DNT, and we must motivate as many of us as possible to use our local area for activities and outdoor life. Fugle- myrhytta, one of our most popular overnight cabins, is just two kilometers from the nearest tram station in Oslo. It has been booked every night through the pandemic. You can view the city skyline from the cabin – but still get a totally different feeling than from staying in your own home. We believe that to ensure and facilitate such offers, gives our members valuable experiences – and a better everyday life.

About DNT

Den Norske Turistforening DNT (The Norwegian Trekking Association) is Norway’s largest outdoor recreation NGO. DNT has approximately 320,000 members and manages more than 500 cabins and 22,000 kilometers of waymarked trails across all of Norway, for use by its members, other inhabitants of Norway as well as foreign visitors.

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The need for Local Community Resilience in Sustainable Tourism

Judy Kepher Gona, founder of Sustainable Travel & Tourism Agenda-(STTA) Tourism utilises substantial community assets and is

to a large extent dependent on community willingness and acceptance of visitors. Community assets and community attitudes are therefore necessary for balanced growth, which is sustainable tourism.

Whereas sustainable tourism is anchored on social, environmental and economic pillars, they are not stand-alone pillars. Environmental and economic

pillars lean on the community pillar. In this context, community is broadened to include residents in destinations and all local providers of experiences in destinations. Sustainable tourism should focus on strategies to build resilience in order to strengthen environmental and economic pillars that support balanced growth.

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The 10th MMV Conference: Managing outdoor recreation experiences in the Anthropocene – Resources, markets, innovations