Mid Sweden University

Forests’ ability to provide opportunities for recreation is an important ecosystem service. This has prompted attempts to create indicators to assess forests' suitability for recreation, although hitherto with limited success. This study introduces a novel framework for indicators of potential and realised recreational values of forests, with a primary focus on Sweden and Fennoscandia. We divided forest attributes into intrinsic qualities (i.e. the structure and composition of the forest), extrinsic qualities (i.e. the location of the forest in relation to other components of the landscape), and facilitation qualities (i.e. the presence of recreational infrastructure). Using Fennoscandia as a case study, we performed a literature review to find specific indicators of recreational values, as well as evaluate the current availability of spatial data suitable to map the forest qualities on a national scale. The most important intrinsic quality we identified was tree size/age, whereas for extrinsic quality it was proximity to water. Systematic monitoring of recreational use is essential to estimate realised recreational values. The conceptual framework proved to be a valuable tool for identifying potential indicators, and applying it in other regions is likely to yield useful outcomes. 

This study aims to analyse the efforts of the Swedish sport federations and outdoor organizations? work in promoting environmental sustainability and the influence of their strategies on their work. The study utilizes data from 25 sport federations and outdoor organizations? websites, and 19 interviews with key employees working with sustainability issues. The data were analysed from a Foucauldian understanding of power as both productive and disciplinary. One key finding is that organizations acknowledge their ability and responsibility to contribute to sustainable development and serve as a productive force. They aim to change their members? habits and norms through disseminating knowledge, to discipline individuals according to certain expectations. However, challenges arise due to voluntariness, democratic governance by members and other norms that may prioritize different goals over environmental sustainability. It is crucial to consider the inherent objectives of sports and outdoor recreations and use their transformative potential to drive change.

Following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, most European countries imposed lockdowns, whereas Sweden introduced soft restrictions. Sports and physical activity could continue if conducted 'safely' and outdoor activities were even promoted if restrictions on the number of participants were not violated. The aim of this article is to demonstrate how the pandemic led to transitions and transformations of typical indoor sports activities to the outdoors and to outdoor recreation, or what we call an outdoorification process of sports and recreation, and how the changes were perceived by the population. Sweden is used as a case study. The inquiry is based on three studies involving more than 100 semi-structured interviews, two national questionnaire surveys and a regional-based PPGIS study. Based on the results, we argue that the outdoorification process is likely to influence how sport and recreation is understood and practiced also in the years after the pandemic.

Providers of open access tourism products have to rely on visitors complying to their funding model. Visitor monitoring is often seen as cumbersome and challenging considering geographic remoteness and multiple entry and exit point. Within a Swedish context, funding models are also restricted due to the Public Right of Access to nature (allemansrätten). Swedish trail providers, offering activities such as cross-country skiing, are therefore dependent on the tourist’s willingness to pay (WtP) for trail passes and their compliance to the presented funding model. Understanding visitors’ perception and acceptance (or disapproval) to a funding model of an open access tourism product becomes crucial for trail providers to develop an attractive trail product. With an inductive approach including semi-structured interviews, this study aims to develop a better understanding of visitors’ perception of trail pass systems and possibly identify motivations why visitors comply/ not comply to a trail pass system for cross-country skiing in two Swedish tourist resorts. With so far mainly quantitative studies about cross-country skiers’ compliance to funding models, a qualitative approach provides more in-depth knowledge and fills a significant gap in the literature.Participants are recruited via a preceding survey with the incentive of a gift voucher to participate in a follow-up interview. Qualitative content analysis is used to analyse 15 interviews with focus on visitors’ perception of the funding models and reasons for compliance to those. Insights about drivers for non-compliance are seen as especially relevant for this study.Limitations in terms of possible social desirability bias and language barriers during the interviews are discussed and assessed.

This chapter discusses approaches to do foresights in outdoor recreation and tourism in nature, based on research from the Nordic countries. This region has a long-standing reputation for promoting outdoor recreation, with associated policies aiming to support this tradition for the benefit of future generations and environmental engagement. To do so successfully, one key input is improving the knowledge of outdoor recreational participation, associated trends, and future development. In this chapter, we therefore review different monitoring approaches to trend analyses as a means of forecasting participation and discuss supplementary approaches to foresight in outdoor recreation. We operationalize the Nordic context through studies undertaken in Finland, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway. Our examination shows that the tradition of national surveys and on-site visitor monitoring has proven effective. However, contemporary changes in society call for additional approaches to better understand future outdoor recreation. We therefore share experiences from several different approaches to foresight in outdoor recreation. This will inform future research as well as managers, entrepreneurs, planners and policymakers in their decision-making.

Friluftslivet skapar många värden för individ och samhälle. Några av dessa uppstår genom den konsumtion deltagande i olika slags friluftsaktiviteter genererar. Friluftslivet representerar också flera upplevda värden. År 2009 gjordes en enkätundersökning bland svenskar kring deras ekonomiska utgifter för friluftsliv och värdering av deltagande i fritidsaktiviteter utomhus. Rapporten som kom 2010 var första gången friluftslivets ekonomiska värden dokumenterades i en svensk kontext. Syftet var att fånga friluftslivets omfattning i ekonomiska termer genom att utgå ifrån 43 olika friluftsaktiviteter som valts baserat på den vetenskapliga forskningen. Den här rapporten följer upp 2009 års undersökning genom en förnyad studie som upprepar den som gjordes då i syfte att skatta direkta ekonomiska effekter, indirekta effekter och svenskarnas värdering av friluftslivet. Undersökningen är gjord genom tre omgångar av utskick för att täcka ett års aktiviteter, där ett representativt urval av privatpersoner i en webb-panel har fått svara på en enkät med frågor om utgifter kopplade till friluftsliv.

Resultaten visar att 60 % av alla vuxna svenskar har haft utgifter för friluftsliv, för egen del och/eller för andras räkning. De sammanlagda utgifterna uppgår till 191 019 miljoner kr, och  därutöver finns ett konsumentöverskott motsvarande 24 016 miljoner kr. Jämfört med år 2009 innebär detta en 60-procentig ökning i utgifter och en 40-procentig minskning i konsumentöverskott (mätt i 2009 års prisnivå). Friluftsrelaterade utgifter bidrar med ett förädlingsvärde i den svenska ekonomin motsvarande ca 74 950 miljoner kr och ca 167 300 arbetstillfällen. Rapporten innehåller detaljerade resultat avseende olika kategorier av utgifter för friluftsliv, utgifter för olika aktiviteter, årstider, geografisk fördelning samt jämförelser mellan olika grupper. 

This paper reports results from three studies concerning outdoor recreation participation and trends during the Covid-19 pandemic in Sweden. The studies, undertaken at national, regional and local levels, used surveys, interviews and PPGIS approaches, to build a solid knowledge base. Results are analyzed with particular attention given to management and policy implications based on the following observations: increased outdoor recreation participation, changes in lifestyle and routines, new visitor profiles and activity trends, spatial changes, visitor displacement, spatial redistribution, and indications of post-pandemic outdoor recreation behavior. The Swedish case is of special interest because of high accessibility to nature areas and few restrictions to recreate in nature due to the pandemic. Hence, this study could serve as a reference for other countries with more Covid-19 related restrictions and less accessible nature for recreation. 

Wildlife watching tourism is an increasingly important niche within nature-based tourism. As this niche continues to grow, care must be taken how tourists interact with the natural environment. One way to manage such interactions is through high-quality guiding, which has been acknowledged as a key element of wildlife watching tourism. The guide’s role was first conceptualized by Cohen (1985), who divided it into the instrumental, social, interactional, and communicative components. While several studies adopt Cohen’s framework, it is also argued that there are elements to nature guiding which are not fully covered (Randall & Rollins, 2009). In this chapter, we investigate the guide’s role in the context of wildlife watching tourism, using Cohen’s framework as a starting point. We compare musk ox safaris in Dovrefjell, Norway to Polar Bear tourism activities in Svalbard, Norway and Churchill, Canada using data from travel party interviews, participant observations and content analysis of online reviews. Findings reveal two additional components to guiding wildlife experiences: The uncertainty component and the encounter component. Based on these findings, we suggest an expanded model of the guide’s role when guiding wildlife watching tourism activities.