Sustainable Arctic Cruise Destinations: From Challenges to Practices

Growing cruise tourism numbers in the Arctic have prompted concerns about a lack of local capacity to handle this form of development. To address these concerns, this paper discusses how Arctic tourism destinations manage cruise tourism. The study involved a cross-case analysis of five Arctic cruise destination communities. The empirical investigation identifies five practices — pricing, innovation, investment, regulation, and networking—that can be used to address local cruise challenges and secure local control over the number of incoming cruise tourists. The study concludes that sustainable Arctic cruise destinations rely on regional and national regulations, locally developed practices, and local governance arrangements.