Sustainable Accommodation in Low Density Areas: The Case of Glamping Tourism in the Northern Lights

Introduction

Taking as a given the spatial dimension of tourism, the research field of this research concerns the tourist activity in glamping accommodations, but with a geographical limitation, which is defined by the parallel of latitude (66°-33´-38´´´) north of the Equator and the main criterion of low density of geographical areas.

Including, however, the COVID-19 epidemiological crisis, which has brought the global community and its entire range of activities an uninterrupted recession, it is difficult to measure its impact (OECD, 2020). The health crisis caused enormous damage to the global economy, and this clearly had an impact on the broader tourism sector, which was negatively affected, and its hitherto upward trajectory was halted. However, given that it is a highly dynamic and complex phenomenon with many facets, one of its characteristics is its adaptability. The recovery must keep pace with the trends of the post-COVID 19 era and both the development strategy and new tourism products must be in line with them (Skryl & Gregoric,2022). Adopting the philosophy of sustainable tourism development combined with the promotion of alternativity and following the logic of adaptation, another variable, that of low density, has helped and continues to help the emergence of new ways of expressing tourism activities, in the light of now social distancing, as it results from the sequence of events. But can tourism become established and contribute to the development of low-density areas? Do tourism flows have the power to influence the sustainable development of tourism in these areas? These are two of the key research questions, the answers to which emerge effortlessly with the help of the case study research results.

By conducting the case study, we examine whether and to what extent tourist destinations, in low-density areas, can not only remain unscathed, but also evolve and emerge as fully sustainable tourism resources. What is the role of alternative forms of tourism and what is the role of glamping sites in this location? Questions also arise about the contribution of glamping accommodation to tourism recovery and the extent to which social factors influence the glamping - Northern Lights dichotomy.

The focus of this study is on six (6) countries, which are shown to have the best views of the Northern Lights and at the same time have low territorial and therefore population density. These countries are Norway, Sweden, Iceland, Canada, Lapland, and Greenland. The reference to these countries comes from a cross-check of independent and personalized online travel guides. The case of glamping sites in areas where the Northern Lights are visible is an important example with a strong sustainability element. Tourist sentiment has changed and this change, triggered by COVID-19, is expected to shrink both tourist preference and behavior. This will in turn increase the number of tourists travelling to destinations with low population and spatial density (Everingham & Chassagne, 2020). Thus, glamping accommodations, which seem to be inextricably linked to low-density areas, can gain a comparative advantage as they provide the sense of safety, social distance, open spaces, and lower density that COVID-19 has established (Duro et al., 2021).

With the restart of tourism and the identification of the future recovery phase by contemporary scholars, it is possible to transform the current production processes (Prideaux et al., 2020) and try to promote tourism flows in low-density areas, where the feeling of safety is more prevalent. At the same time, there are fears of an unrealistic approach, as governments will move towards models that serve job creation and reduce the high levels caused by the epidemiological crisis (Hall et al., 2020).