Description
Book SynopsisGreenland is becoming a critically important territory in terms of tourism, climate change and competition for resource access, yet it has been poorly represented in academic literature. Tourism now features as a major source of income for the territory alongside fisheries. Cruise tourism is increasing rapidly, and might superficially appear to be best suited to Greenlandic conditions, given the lack of large-scale accommodation infrastructure and almost non-existent land routes between settlements. Ironically, one of the most spectacular tourist attractions is the large number of icebergs that are being calved as the result of glacier retreat and ice cap melting, both appearing to be taking place at ever increasing rates. As a consequence of ice removal, the territory's claimed extensive range of mineral resources, not least rare earth elements and hydrocarbons, are becoming more accessible for exploitation and, thereby, are acting increasingly as the focus for geopolitical competition. This book explores the nature of dynamics between tourism, climate change and the geopolitics of natural resource exploitation in the Arctic and examines their interrelationships specifically in the critical context of Greenland, but within a framework that emphasises the wider global implications of the outcomes of such interrelationships. This book is the first to explore these interrelationships in depth in English.
Table of ContentsPart 1: Arctic Context 1: Framing the Arctic 2: The Changing Role of the Arctic: Transforming Peripherality 3: Arctic Tourism: Sustainability, Resilience and Identity Part 2: Dynamic Greenland 4: Evolving Greenland (Kalaallit Nunaat) 5: Greenland’s ‘Self-Sustainability’ 6: Greenlandic Identity and Culture within Development Processes, including: The Renegotiation of Greenlandic Identity by Kirsten Thisted 7: Tourism Supporting Greenland’s Aspirations 8: Peripherality, Tourism and Geopolitical Dimensions of Accessibility in Greenland 9: Fulcrum of Climate Change? 10: Tourism and Imagery: Soft Power, Branding and Cultural Disconnection, Including Understanding Adventure Tourism by Chinese Outbound Tourists by Rong Huang 11: Paradoxes of Cruise Tourism to Greenland 12: Greenlandic Independence and Tourism Futures – Exploring the Logics of Modernity and Indigeneity, by Carina Ren and Mette Simonsen Abildgaard Part 3: Conclusions 13: Summary and Conclusions
