TOURISM CARES WITH NORWAY EDUCATION + SPEAKERS
Wednesday, April 19th
Full Presentation Available Here
Education Session at the Scandic Ishavshotel | Ishavet 2
9:45 am: Welcome to Norway!
Scandic Ishavshotel | Ishavet 2
Speakers:
- Aase Marthe Horrigmo, Head of Visit Norway
- Trond Øverås, CEO, Visit Northern Norway
- Greg Takehara, CEO, Tourism Cares
- Terry Dale, President, USTOA
10:15 am - 10:45 am: Re-thinking Sustainable Tourism
Scandic Ishavshotel | Ishavet 2
This session will kick us off, providing an update on what has happened in sustainability over the last 12 months and addressing the main sustainability challenges facing the planet, including the topic of aviation emissions and carbon offsets. The session will introduce the key frameworks we will use for our thinking during the summit, including Transformational Experiences and Regenerative Tourism.
Speaker: Graham Miller, University of Surrey
Suggested Reading: Will Flying Ever be Green? (2023) The Guardian, 6th April
10:45 am - 12:00 pm: Creating Sustainable Destinations Through the Tourism Value Chain
Scandic Ishavshotel | Ishavet 2
As DMO’s shift to include more of a community focus, tour operators can and should be part of the solution. This session will bring forward the experiences of several tourism leaders on how collaboration is essential in making progress on sustainability through the tourism value chain. Delegates will discuss in groups what they see as the main challenges and opportunities for collaboration between tour operators and DMO’s.
Speakers:
- Graham Miller, Professor of Sustainability in Business, University of Surrey
- Malia Asfour, Managing Director, Jordan Tourism Board North America
- Timo Shaw, President, Country Walkers & VBT Bicycling Vacations
- Shannon Guihan, Chief Sustainability Officer, The Travel Corporation
- Knut Perander, Head of Destination Development, Visit Norway
Suggested Reading: National Tourism Strategy + SKIFT: Communities are No Longer Spectators in Travel
1:30 pm - 2:45 pm: Making Sustainability Happen
Scandic Ishavshotel | Ishavet 2
During this fully interactive session, delegates will discuss with other tour operators, experts, and representatives from local businesses solutions to their organization's key challenges. Delegates will break into groups for smaller discussions around the following topics: carbon mitigation - offsets and carbon removal, community impact & sustainable supply chain, and sustainability marketing.
Speaker: Graham Miller, Professor of Sustainability in Business, University of Surrey
Suggested Reading: SKIFT: U.S. Needs to Step Up Proof of Sustainability With European Tourists
Education Session on the Hurtigruten MS Nordkaap
3:15 pm - 3:25 pm: Welcome
Hurtigruten MS Nordkaap
Speaker: Andre Pettersen, VP of Hurtigruten Operations, Hurtigruten
3:25 pm - 3:45 pm: Fireside Chat with Hurtigruten
Hurtigruten MS Nordkaap
This conversation will introduce Hurtigruten and discuss their challenges, innovations, and what the future of the cruise industry, to fragile destinations in particular, might look like.
Speakers:
- Graham Miller, Professor of Sustainability in Business, University of Surrey
- Hedda Felin, CEO, Hurtigruten
3:45 pm - 4:30 pm: Tourism in a Fragile Environment: Responding to Climate Risks
Hurtigruten MS Nordkaap
This session will follow on from the previous session and discuss the challenges of bringing tourism to a remote and ecologically fragile place. What does the future of tourism look like in such places? Our panelists will speak about how they seek to mitigate the impacts of tourism and adapt to the clear evidence of climate change. The discussion will expand beyond tourism in Norway to consider the role tourism plays when it sends guests to any fragile environment around the globe.
Facilitator: Graham Miller, Professor of Sustainability in Business, University of Surrey
Panelists:
- Trond Øverås, CEO, Visit Northern Norway
- Tudor Morgan, VP of Sustainability and Industry Relations, Hurtigruten
- Gaute Svensson, Associate Professor Department of Tourism and Northern Studies, Arctic University of Norway
Suggested Reading: Climate Impact Moves From Marketing to Operations
Thursday, April 20th
9:00 am - 10:30 am: Designing Tourism for Local Communities: A Case Study with the Sami People
Scandic Ishavshotel | Ishavet 2
For tourism to work successfully, it needs to first and foremost benefit the people who live there. This session will use a case study format to examine what impacts tourism can have, both positive and negative on locals and Indigenous communities, and ask us to think about how experiences can be re-designed to deliver greater benefit for both guests and hosts. Delegates will be asked to think about the role their organizations can play in helping to regenerate culturally fragile destinations.
Facilitator: Graham Miller, Professor of Sustainability in Business, University of Surrey
Speakers:
Sandra Márjá West, Sami Council
Knut Perander, Head of Destination Development, Visit Norway
Britt Kramvig, Professor, The Arctic University of Norway
Frida Omma, Arctic University of Norway
Antje Schlectt, Visit Sapmi
Johan Isak Turi Oskal, Tromsø Arctic Reindeer
Suggested Reading: Reading: National Geographic (2021) Stereotypes have fueled a tourism boom in Europe’s icy North. Can things change?
Saturday, April 22nd
9:00 am - 10:30 am The Future of Tourism in Svalbard
Funken Lodge
This session will bring together everything we have experienced during the summit thus far and ask - what is the future of tourism in fragile environments? This session will begin with a welcome from the municipality of Svalbard, and we will hear from speakers who are adapting tourism in this destination, and life more broadly, to the challenge of climate change. What is the future for Svalbard, and can tourism play a positive and regenerative role in that future? What lessons can we learn that can be applied to other destinations and our own businesses?
Speaker:
- Graham Miller, Professor of Sustainability in Business, University of Surrey University of Nordland
- Sara Nordell Borchgrevink, Sustainability Manager, Visit Svalbard
- Dominique Callimanopulos, Founder & CEO, Elevate Destinations
- Knut Perander, Visit Norway, Head of Destination Development
Suggested Readings:
Sunday, April 23rd
9:00 am - 10:30 am Commitment to Action Breakfast
This final session will ask delegates for their reflections on the week, the chance to address final questions and unresolved challenges. The session will finish with asking delegates to make commitments for action when they return home.
Speakers:
- Graham Miller, Professor of Sustainability in Business, University of Surrey
- Sarika Bansal, Editorial Director, AFAR