Transforming an Iconic Attraction into a Diversified Destination: The Case of North Cape Tourism

Abstract

This study is about tourism development in an area with an iconic attraction, the cliff of North Cape, located at the northernmost point on mainland Norway. About 250,000 tourists visit North Cape yearly. The main part of North Cape tourism is operated by a close cooperation between big companies, one of which is in charge of the major part of hotel accommodation and the main attraction. The Norwegian coastal steamer company, cruise ships, and several larger tour operators collaborate in what we have named a “Fordist” type operation. An entrance fee is one of the income sources for the company in charge of the cliff of North Cape. Outside the big companies' domain, there are a few smaller hotels, lodges, camp sites, some fish tourism firms, and some firms providing other experiences, together constituting an alternative tourism production. The present study shows that there is a diversification going on, also involving the big companies, as an increasing number of customers ask for the type of experiences that the small ones provide. And due to this demand, the small companies grow and diversify further. Central to the successes of the small firms is also their ability to interact, their local embeddedness, and social competence. However, formal tourism networks organized by development agencies are less important. All together the combined large and small operations constitute a complementary and dynamic tourism industry, with a flexible and market-oriented production. Thus, the diversification takes place both through a post-Fordistic adaptation in the small-scale sector, and in a neo-Fordist fashion as concerns the larger tourism actors.