Endemic and Diverse: Planning Perspectives on Second-home Tourism’s Heterogeneous Impact on Swedish Housing Markets

Andreas Back

doi:10.1080/14036096.2021.1944906

Abstract

ABSTRACT Second-home tourism’s transformative power on local communities is widely recognized through numerous studies on its social, environmental and economic effects in many parts of the world. A significant share of this literature examines how second-home tourism impacts local housing markets and access to housing. However, few studies have looked into how planning authorities navigate these impacts of second-home tourism and how they differ spatially. Based on previous studies on the heterogeneity of second-home tourism and a comprehensive interview material from 20 Swedish municipalities, this paper examines impacts on local housing markets and the management efforts by local planning authorities. The results show how second-home tourism impact housing markets very differently depending on context when it comes to growth, housing demand and effects for locals’ access to housing. The study argues for an acknowledgement of this heterogeneous geography and more context-aware second-home research that moves beyond the rural-urban dichotomy.

Highlights

Second homes have been defined as “the occasional residence of a household that usually lives elsewhere” (Coppock 1977b, p. 3), seeking relaxation, natural environs, escape from everyday life and connecting to family roots (Arnesen et al 2012; Kaltenborn and Clout 1998; Müller, Nordin, and Marjavaara 2010)
The results show how second-home tourism impact housing markets very differently depending on context when it comes to growth, housing demand and effects for locals’ access to housing
A backdrop for second-home tourism is the societal and historical processes of economic restructuring and urbanization, in which rural production landscapes increasingly have become post-productivist (Hoogendoorn 2010) or consumption landscapes (Müller, Hall, and Keen 2004) for amenity use (Halseth 1998; Müller 1999). This material context of second-home tourism is emphasized by Paris (2011, p. 178), when stating that second homes are “physical structures embedded in market relations”

Summary

Introduction

Second homes have been defined as “the occasional residence of a household that usually lives elsewhere” (Coppock 1977b, p. 3), seeking relaxation, natural environs, escape from everyday life and connecting to family roots (Arnesen et al 2012; Kaltenborn and Clout 1998; Müller, Nordin, and Marjavaara 2010). Since there is no clear delineation between a dwelling being used as a second home or primary residence, neither in users’ everyday lives, in legislation nor in the housing market, this means that second-home tourism becomes an issue for municipalities to deal with from a housing perspective (see Aronsson 2004; Müller and Hall 2003; Persson 2011, 2015, 2018; Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis 2012).

Results

Conclusion