In July 2024, Nord University organized Summer School for the first time. The Faculty of Social Sciences offered the course Sustainable Tourism Development in Arctic Coastal Communities. Associate professor Hin H. Heemstra developed the course based on the project Sustainable Arctic Cruise Communities: from practice to governance, and the course Sustainable Tourism that is offered at Nord University, campus Levanger.
This summer school gives the students insights into the meanings of sustainability in the context of tourism, discusses critical perspectives and offers insight in the case of an Arctic coastal destination: Saltstraumen.
Experiencing a destination is very important for understanding challenges and opportunities connected to sustainability, and this is why a fieldtrip to Saltstraumen was part of the program. After visiting different businesses and sights in this coastal destination, we had the chance to go snorkeling, and do an interview with the owners of the company Nordogne.
The students presented a poster about their findings, and used the concepts introduced in the course to analyze the case of Saltstraumen.
