Mid Sweden University

This article explores the role of domestic tourism, specifically outdoor recreational sports and events, in fostering immigrant integration, with a focus on Jämtland County in northern Sweden. While friluftsliv (outdoor recreation) holds a central place in Swedish leisure and domestic tourism culture, immigrants are often underrepresented in such activities. Rather than framing this solely as a matter of cultural difference, we investigate how immigrants perceive outdoor engagement, the barriers they encounter, and how social connections shaped through social capital can offer empowering, integrative experiences. The study draws on in-depth interviews with thirty-four immigrants, adding new knowledge to how outdoor recreation intersects with social capital, social sustainability, and integration. Our analysis highlights three key themes: belonging to outdoors, barriers to participation, and the role of sports and events in shaping social connections. We argue that outdoor engagement can support integration and enhance social sustainability, offering insights into both theory and inclusive practice in domestic tourism and recreation planning.

This reports is an independent evaluation of the Alvar Aalto Route – 20th Century Architecture and Design for the certification cycle 2024-2025. This is a certified Cultural Route of the Council of Europe that connects destinations linked to the architectural and design legacy of Finnish architect Alvar Aalto. Alvar Aalto (1898– 1976) is renowned for his human-centric design, which harmonized functionalism with natural and cultural sensitivity. His works represent iconic contributions to modernist architecture and Scandinavian design. Overall, the Alvar Aalto Route has made significant progress since the last evaluation and successfully integrates cultural heritage, sustainable tourism, and modern innovation, ensuring that Aalto’s legacy remains a vibrant and influential force in contemporary architecture and design. Through collaboration, expansion, and education, the route exemplifies the values of the Council of Europe and contributes meaningfully to European cultural heritage. 

This study examines strategic leverage points for climate change mitigation in small-scale tourism destinations, using an interdisciplinary approach that combines life cycle assessment (LCA) and behavioural experimentation. The purpose was to identify operational and behavioural interventions that can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while maintaining visitor satisfaction. The LCA, conducted at an animal park, revealed that heating systems in visitor facilities, particularly during off-peak seasons, represent critical infrequent decision points for emissions reduction. Although large-scale infrastructural changes, such as the adoption of renewable energy, may be beyond the reach of small businesses, targeted efficiency improvements and seasonally optimized operations can deliver meaningful climate benefits. On the demand side, a lab experiment tested a nudge + approach that combined subtle choice architecture with reflective, values-based communication. Results suggested that nudge + interventions increased the likelihood of visitors making more sustainable choices without diminishing the quality of the tourism experience. These findings suggest that combining shallow leverage points (e.g., operational efficiency, behavioural nudges) with deeper interventions (e.g., reframing goals, fostering sustainability-oriented mindsets) offers the greatest potential for contributing to a larger systemic change. For small-scale tourism destinations, integrating bottom-up innovation with supportive governance and strategic communication can provide scalable, context-sensitive pathways towards low-carbon futures.

Mid Sweden University (MIUN) recognizes its vital role in advancing sustainability through education, research, and institutional practices: ’What we do [at Mid Sweden University] has to work not only today but also in the future’, as the University’s strategy document states (MIUN 2018/1006). To assess the current sustainability perceptions, behaviours, and attitudes among staff, the MIUN Sustainability Survey was conducted in 2024. The survey had multiple aims: i) understand sustainability competencies on campus; ii) evaluate attitudes and engagement in sustainability initiatives; iii) identify barriers to sustainable behaviours; iv) identify perceived importance of different sustainability actions, and v) collect staff suggestions for future sustainability efforts. This survey serves as a baseline for future assessments and provides insights into sustainability engagement across both university campuses.

This research explores the potential application of nudge + in a tourismcontext. Nudge + is an intervention that aims to influence consumerdecisions and promote long-term behavioural change by facilitatingreflexive actions alongside reflective processes. Nudge + is conceptualisedas a hybrid approach incorporating elements from green nudging andtransformative experiences. In a laboratory simulation of a visit to ananimal park, nudge + is used to explore how combining successivereflection-inducing messages and menu manipulations influences par -ticipants' food choices and pro-environmental attitudes. The process ofdesigning the simulation constitutes a constructive step in developingand learning how to utilise nudge + in tourism activities. Our interpreta-tion of nudge + entails a purposeful and comprehensive rethinking ofthe tourism experiencescape and customer journey to maintain enjoy-ment, engage visitors and ensure a cohesive stance towards reducingvisitors' onsite climate footprint. Interventions and reflective elementscan be incorporated as sequential interactions that set local norms. Theresults indicate that nudge + can boost participants' pro-environmentalattitudes and behavioural intentions. Moreover, the interventions do notdisturb participants, and nudging is perceived as an acceptable strategyfor reducing tourists' climate footprint. 

This chapter focuses on environmental leveraging of sport event portfolios, which has been an under researched area of event studies. By looking at the case of the Swedish city of Östersund, this chapter argues that strategic planning of event portfolios can lead to numerous environmental benefits, but there are also obstacles that must be overcome to achieve environmental goals. It is crucial to have effective communication, collaboration, and support for smaller events to take full advantage of the opportunities provided by sport event portfolios. To fully realize the potential of sport events in promoting environmental sustainability there is a need for development of common language on environmental sustainability, agreement on environmental standards and measurements, as well as strategic collaboration among stakeholders. 

In this research, we discuss how immigrants’ experiences in outdoor activities are influenced by the social capital, and how these activities can promote immigrants’ social integration leading to their environmental awareness and pro-environmental behaviors. Engagement in domestic tourism exposes interconnected justice challenges in multicultural countries. Immigrants’ perceived disparities, social and environmental vulnerabilities, inclusion in outdoor activities, and justice are some pressing issues considered in the research. Moreover, integrating justice into domestic tourism discourses is urging the re-evaluation of our understanding of sustainable tourism through the lenses of justice and sustainability. Recognizing and including the immigrants’ diverse voices is essential in generating new insights on sustainable transformative options, developing theoretical and empirical foundations to guide tourism communities and national and regional policy responses, especially within the outdoor setting, which brings up both social and environmental concerns. This research discusses how the holistic approach to both social and environmental aspects of outdoor recreation through the ethnic or immigrant lens can address the complex web of sustainability challenges, fostering more just and sustainable future of tourism. We adopt a social capital lens to understand the social and environmental implications of domestic tourism within the context of outdoor recreational activities. Empirically, this chapter is based on interviews with immigrants in the north of Sweden – a region known for its nature and outdoor pursuits. 

Immigrant-receiving societies, like Sweden, underscore the importance of immigrant integrationinto mainstream life. While integration through leisure activities and outdoor recreation has beena focal point in Europe (Gentin, 2011), academic research on this aspect is lacking in Sweden. This is significant given Sweden's strong social and economic ties to outdoor activities. Sweden, renowned for its vast forests and natural environment, places importance on outdoor recreational activities, winter sports, and international events. Major sports events not only impact regional economies but also contribute to positive social outcomes, including a sense of pride and improved quality of life (Wallstam et al., 2020). The popularity of outdoor activities among Swedes, with one in three Swedes ages 6-80 engage in sports (Idrottsstatistik, 2022) and one-third in outdoor recreation (Public Health Agency for Sweden, 2018), make the mintegral to daily life. Sports and outdoor activities serve as potential avenues for immigrants to connect with natives, acting as social bridges for integration (Ekholm, 2019; Elbe et al., 2018). Previous research highlights the potential for integration through events and leisure activities, with factors such as race (Qian & Cobas, 2004), and cultural differences (Kalmijn & Tubergen, 2006) influencing cross-group interactions. This study focuses on the social integration of immigrants in Jämtland County, Sweden, exploring socially sustainable tourism perspectives, social capital (Putnam, 1993), and integration frameworks (Ndofor-Tah et al., 2019). Insights from 34 immigrants reveal events as potent settings for building interactions and networks. However, the study emphasizes that time and active involvement in events are fundamental for integration, placing a substantial responsibility on immigrants. Moreover, the study reveals that immigrants perceive events differently from other leisure activities, particularly sports, underscoring a significant and multifaceted information gap. Recognizing the distinctive role and importance of events in their social lives during the post-immigration period is crucial, calling for increased awareness among both immigrants and relevant stakeholders. 

Att begränsa turismens klimatpåverkan har blivit en av besöksnäringens främsta hållbarhetsutmaningar, såväl lokalt som globalt. Näringen har en viktig roll att spela för ett mer hållbart samhälle. I projektet Klimatsmarta lösningar genom samhällsvetenskapligt experiment har forskare vid Mittuniversitetet studerat landsbygds- och naturbaserade turismentreprenörer som vill minska sina klimatavtryck. I ett unikt labb experiment har de undersökt möjligheten att påverka besökares attityder och beteenden i mer miljövänlig riktning på både kort och lång sikt. I två delstudier med metoderna nudging och livscykelanalys (LCA) har forskarna studerat om det är möjligt att stimulera ett mer klimatvänligt beteende på turistplatser.