From sustainable to regenerative? Embedding indigenous values into Norwegian tourism policies

Sustainable tourism has become, for many, a buzzword and a tool for greenwashing. Often its ethical principles are developed in institutional and commercial tourism outlets with insufficient efforts to meaningfully implement such principles. Within this context, our study examines the transition from sustainable tourism policies driven by economic growth to sustainability approaches embedded in regenerative, non-hierarchical ecologies. We analyse the potential for this shift as framed by Norwegian (national) and Sámi (indigenous) tourism stakeholders. To do so, we compare the official Norwegian tourism strategy, and the sub-strategy commissioned to the Sámi parliament. The study adopts a multi-method approach consisting of critical discourse analysis (CDA) of the Norwegian and Sámi tourism documents and semi-structured interviews with tourism policy-makers. This approach sheds light on the issue of power inherent in tourism discourses, particularly by examining how language sustains or exacerbates dominant political, economic, and social roles and relations. Findings highlight a significant gap between the sustainability discourses that inform the official tourism policy and the regenerative perspectives underpinning the indigenous approach to tourism. The study reveals that embracing Sámi insights, which embody regenerative principles through deep ecological connections and community-focused values, could offer a valuable, inclusive and meaningful path for Norway’s tourism development.

https://doi.org/10.1080/19407963.2025.2535569