Cultural Sensitivity within Norwegian Sámi Tourism

Abstract

This article addresses tourism in the Sámi areas of Norway and how 23 Sámi and non‐Sámi tourism providers deal with issues of cultural sensitivity. The article is based on a study that asked how sensitive issues had occurred in Sámi tourism operations and how they had dealt with them. Both Sámi and non‐Sámi tourism experience providers met a series of dilemmas. During interviews and conversations, terms such as recognition and respect appeared, which are also central to theoretical discussions on cultural sensitivity in the field. The article has a particular focus on how tourism providers deal with ethnocentrism and stereotyping and how these aspects are touched upon in production and discourses related to traditional costumes, handicrafts, and souvenir trade. Further, as reindeer are central in Sámi tourism, human‐animal relations are discussed as a sensitive aspect of Sámi tourism. Additional issues are discussed, such as tourism development and the split between different Sámi groups, the tension between cultural policing and innovation, and challenges related to border management. In conclusion, the concept of cultural sensitivity is discussed in light of the aspects that emerged in conversation with the tourism providers, pointing at ways to widen the concept to include analysis of sensitive aspects of tourism provided by Sámi themselves.