Asian Mobilities Consumption in a Changing Arctic

Young-Sook Lee is professor in tourism management at the School of Business and Economics, UiT The Arctic University of Norway. As a Korean-Australian (moved to Australia after her first degree), she completed her PhD in Sociology (applied in tourism) at the University of Queensland, Australia. She worked as a tourism management academic in Australia (Griffith University) for over 15 years before relocating to Norway in 2014.

"Asian tourists are interested in the Arctic and travelled to the Arctic in large numbers until the corona-pandemic temporarily closed down international travelling in 2020/21. There are reasons to believe that we soon will see numerous Asian tourists in the Arctic again. Asian Mobilities Consumption in a Changing Arctic brings many of the leading researchers in Arctic tourism together to provide a varied and interesting state of the art view of the phenomenon. It provides a rich reference source for the tourism industry, researchers and students in the field."Anne Husebekk, Rector (University President), UiT The Arctic University of Norway"The book represents a timely, interesting, and important investigation of Asian mobilities. The terms Arctic, conspicuous mobilities, consumption, sustainability, politics, and urbanisation appear to be at odds with each other at first glance. However, the discussion sets the foundation for a multitude of exciting research agenda and provides a fresh perspective for practitioners. Not only is this a reference book for researchers, practitioners should benefit tremendously from the insights presented." Cathy H.C. Hsu, Professor, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, PRC.

• Part 1 Setting the scene: Asian mobilities consumption and the Arctic. 1. Asia, mobilities, consumption power and the Arctic. 2. A critique on the non-critical application of Veblen´s conspicuous consumption: A perspective on Asian mobilities in the Arctic. Part 2 Arctic politics and Asia mobilities. 3. Chinese tourism consumption vis-à-vis tourism development strategies in the Arctic. 4. Chinese tourism in the Russian Arctic and Far East: Implications of a China-Russia political partnership. 5. Greenland, the Faroe Islands, Chinese tourism – sustainable development in the face of otherness, growth, and power. Part 3 Green cruise tourism and the potential new sea route between Asia and the Arctic. 6. Renewable energy-based cruise tourism for Asians in the Arctic: A perspective from northern Norway. 7. The Northeast Passage: Connecting China and the Arctic through cruise tourism? Part 4 Ethnicity, culture, experiences and urbanisation. 8. "When I hear there’s going to be an Asian tourist ... ": The role of Asian ethnicity in the planning process of guided tours in Svalbard. 9. Thai mobility and consumerism at North Cape, Norway: Zooming in on a stone at a tourist Site. 10. Learning from an Arctic adventure tourism guide: An exploratory study of emotional labour when leading Chinese consumers. 11. The Chinese riddle: Tourism, China and Svalbard. 12. Embracing Chinese tourists in Iceland: The response of the tourism industry. 13. Designing winter cities: Arctic urbanisation and Asian mobilities consumption. Part 5 Closing. 14. Sustainable mobilities consumption and Asia in a global Arctic: Observations and ways forward