7 Where is Indigenous tourism going next? Moving forward
Among the highlights of the conference were the greetings from the Sámi Youth Council in Finland delivered by Niila-Juhán Valkeapää. In his speech he addressed the concerns from many young Sámi about the future for their communities, culture and lands. Young Sámi's concerns, and fears, about the future include how tourism takes place, not at least how to represent Sámi in tourism. He emphasised how choices and decisions made today affect the future. The youth especially will inevitably be facing the long-term consequences of these choices and decisions made in this time. These future consequences make it important to involve the young generation in the decision-making. With reference to the participants present at the EITC 2025 conference meeting Niila-Juhán asked, “How many young people are in this room?” He noted that the inclusion of young people might not be the priority. Still, Niila-Juhán Valkeapää stresses the importance of dealing with sustainability and tourism issues from a Sámi youth perspective:
What does sustainability really mean, when viewed from an Indigenous youth perspective? It is not only about carbon footprints or eco-labels. It’s about respecting Indigenous decision-making, ensuring our cultures are not turned into performances, and making sure that the benefits of tourism stay in the community, not just with outside investors. Sustainability means that our land is still there for our grandchildren. That our languages are still spoken. That we are not only remembered in museums or travel brochures – but that we are thriving, innovating, and shaping the Arctic future ourselves. We need tourism models that are led by Indigenous people, shaped by our values, and grounded in real consent, not token consultation. Youth are already leading, organising projects, fighting for land rights, and keeping traditions alive in new ways. We are the bridge between the past and the future. We inherit histories of resilience and we are ready to build futures of our own design. But we need support not in the form of more speeches about how important youth are, but through access to funding, education, mentorship, and meaningful seats at decision-making tables. We are not too young to understand the stakes we are dealing with. And we are not too young to lead.Niila-Juhán Valkeapää, working chair of the Youth Council, Sámi Parliament, Finland
Many speakers touched on collaboration between Indigenous tourism entrepreneurs and between Indigenous peoples more generally. Collaboration is needed across borders and between Indigenous peoples in order to solve the current challenges and to succeed in the market. As Ellinor Guttorm Utsi said, alone we are invisible, together we are visible. Gathering together at conferences is also important. As Ann-Kristine Vinka noted, only by gathering together and discussing issues can we move forward and see our common values. According to Heikki Paltto, it is good to see what has been done elsewhere. Ann-Kristine Bongo stated that the conference had opened her eyes to see that by working hard you can reach your goals. There was a wish to have Indigenous tourism conferences in the Nordic countries also in the future, but again funding is a challenge. Sponsors have been a solution in the previous WINTA conferences but how to find sponsors whose values align with those of Indigenous peoples?
Although the conference was decolonial in the sense of having a programme that was planned in an Indigenous-led manner and prioritising Indigenous speakers, the conference format in itself was Western-style. This raised different thoughts of more Indigenous conference formats – how to Indigenise the conference? These ideas were inspired by Áile Aikio’s keynote on decolonising and Indigenising the museum and conversations with attendees with less experience in larger conferences. Future conferences should allow more time and possibilities for dialogue and encounters between the participating Indigenous entrepreneurs, for example, in the form of Meet & Greet events in smaller groups, sharing circles, walk’n talks, or ‘lávvu talks’. For the same reason we recommend having more breaks in the programme and excursions before, during or after the conference to allow people to get to know the land visited (see Section 2). It is also important to make the use of Indigenous languages possible. At the EITC 2025, although simultaneous interpretation was expensive, caused technical issues, delays and frustration, it made the use of Sámi languages possible and welcome (or at some points unwelcome because of the technical problems). The conference supported the use of Sámi languages also on its website, which after the conference provides language students with vocabulary related to Indigenous tourism. We would, however, have needed interpretation also for our Inuit guests (Kalaallisut or Danish).
7.1 Current trends in Sámi tourism
The current era of Sámi tourism is characterised by several promising trends:
Enhanced local, regional, and international collaboration:
There is a growing emphasis on collaboration at all levels – local, regional, and international. Sámi tourism operators are increasingly engaging with Indigenous peoples from other territories, fostering cross-cultural exchanges and partnerships. Locally, small businesses and institutions have developed greater capacity to participate in international collaborations, enabling them to share their unique perspectives on a global stage.
Cross-Border connections in the Nordic region:
Stronger cross-border collaborations within the Nordic countries have been facilitated by organisations such as the Sámi Council and other Nordic bodies. These initiatives are supported by numerous programmes that enhance competence and provide tangible benefits for small enterprises, museums, artists, and cultural institutions. These cross-border efforts not only strengthen Sámi tourism but also contribute to connect Sámi across territory as well as generations. The producer of this report, Sustainable Indigenous Tourism in the Nordic Arctic project, funded by the Nordic Council of Ministers Arctic Cooperation Programme is a good example of these initiatives. It brought together Indigenous tourism entrepreneurs from Finland, Kalaallit Nunaat, Norway and Sweden, fostering joint knowledge and capacity building.
Partnerships between Sámi Parliaments, the Sámi Council, and academic institutions:
Collaboration between Sámi Parliaments, the Sámi Council, and universities or research institutions has become increasingly common. These partnerships are mutually beneficial, fostering innovation, cultural preservation, and sustainable development. Research initiatives, in particular, have provided valuable insights that inform tourism practices and policies.
7.2 Challenges and the path forward
While these initiatives hold great promise, they require sustained political, practical, and financial support to reach their full potential. Investments in infrastructure, capacity building, and policy frameworks are essential to ensure that Sámi tourism continues to thrive as a tool for cultural resilience and economic empowerment. Moreover, ongoing efforts to combat cultural appropriation and promote ethical tourism practices remain critical to safeguarding the integrity of Sámi culture.
Storytelling is a central part of Indigenous knowledge traditions, highlighting the need to craft and present stories that are locally embedded in Indigenous culture. Entrepreneurs are increasingly taking responsibility for reclaiming their own history and ownership of their own stories. They are active agents of change, managing their local knowledge in ways that benefit both the environment and people. They understand that their stories have significance beyond the space and time in which they are told – because stories travel, and in doing so, contribute to creating truths about who we are and how we live.
While stories have the potential to highlight and draw attention to the environmental challenges that we all face, they can also be an important part of the ongoing call for reconciliation. In the future, it will therefore be particularly important that local communities have the opportunity to tell their own stories, in their own way, and that Indigenous stories reflect diversity, vibrant culture, and values through narratives driven by a “we” rather than about the Indigenous person as “the exotic other”. This is a long-term and crucial effort where Indigenous tourism and creative industries can advantageously collaborate over time to ensure storytelling strategies that benefit communities.
Sápmi stretches across national borders and spans large areas from north to south. There is potential in building destination companies like Destination Sápmi across borders and connecting various locations and businesses, bringing artists, designers, traditional knowledge holders and researchers more closely together. Additionally, there is a need for shared meeting places for creative industry actors, art, and businesses from the experience tourism segment. These groups share some common challenges that can be addressed collectively. The various Indigenous regions will have different challenges. At the same time, there is more that unites these actors than divides them. They all want to tell stories that are important for the Indigenous future. They all ask what we can achieve together – and how we can agree on the issues that require common solutions (see more Kramvig & Smedseng, 2022).
For Kalaallit Nunaat, the ongoing work to develop tourism has explicitly been linked to a wish to secure independence for the Indigenous nation (Ren & Jóhannesson, 2025). Moving forward, the challenge will be to secure not only a just access to infrastructure and opportunities emerging from increasing tourism development (Ren & al., 2024, Markussen & Ren, 2023), but also that Inuit values, ways of life and heritage are embedded and strengthened within this development.
