Risks and opportunities associated with change in the cruise tourism sector: community perspectives from Arctic Canada

Abstract

Environmental, sociocultural, political and economic changes are ever present in the Arctic and these have immediate and wide-ranging consequences for the people who live there. In Arctic Canada, cruise ship tourism has emerged as an important sector that simultaneously contributes to, and is influenced by, wider forces of change. Growth in cruise traffic has in part been facilitated by improved access as a result of decreases in sea ice. This paper reports on research using a systems framework to understand how residents in three coastal Inuit communities located along the Northwest Passage view these changes and how they are adapting to developments in the cruise sector. Interviews were conducted in Ulukhaktok (n = 22), Gjoa Haven (n = 52) and Pond Inlet (n = 47). Each of the three communities has experienced different levels of exposure to the cruise sector, and each demonstrates a variety of risks and opportunities. Future actions and strategies they have, or plan, to adopt are explored. This research is important to help prepare communities, policy-makers, as well as the cruise sector itself, to be responsive to change in these remote locations.