Arctification and the Paradox of Overtourism in Sparsely Populated Areas

In this chapter, the Arctic is put in relation to increasing tourism to the North caused not least by increasing geopolitical interests in combination with the focus climate change is putting on the area, here referred to as Arctification. The growth of tourism, and the dispersion or concentration of tourists, has led to new challenges characterized as overtourism that in an Arctic context materializes on a microscale, where small communities can experience relatively large numbers of tourists for a limited time period. The implications of this increase and changing flow require more in-depth or locally based research. This chapter ends by asking what effects there might be of anti-tourism social movements, xenophobia or climate change in the future?