What effect, if any, does climate change have on tourism in Rovaniemi?

Abstract

Climate change has been an invetable topic the past decade. Nature catastrophies are becoming more and more frequent, and the one of the contributers to these are climate change. Rovaniemi is a uniqe destination, as the climate is different in the northern parts of the world due to the heavy snowfall and cold temperatures. The aim of this thesis is to understand if climate change have had an effect on the tourism industry in Rovaniemi. It is is througrely investigated if snowfall, overnight stays and temperatures in the Rovaniemi region have been affected by climate change, furthermore will actual nature catastrophies caused by climate change be presented. Interviews were done towards industry professionals in order to get better understanding of the potential change in the climate and tourism behavior in Rovaniemi. The interviewees were industry proffesionals with 1-10+ years of experience dealing with tourists on a daily basis. A total of 6 interviews were done both through zoom, in person and via e-mail. After analysing the results it was presented that climate change is a real issue in the world, however it is very limited that Rovaniemi has seen any consequenses caused by climate change. Furthermore has been understood that there has been a change in tourism behavior, however this is due to corona and the war in Ukraine. At last has it been understood that a trend in focus on eco-friendly options are on the uprise while the industry proffesionals are worried about the consequenses of climate change in the future. The thesis has been an immense learning process with learnings during the gathering of qualitative data and how the process works. Furthermore has it been a learning experience in order to understand what consequences climate change can have on the tourism behavior.