Life in Lapland - Shareable Local Experiences

Local everyday life is an interesting resource for tourism. This fact has been noted in various national and regional strategic guidelines. Lappish culture, heritage, nature and their narratives offer unique possibilities for tourism development. The global trend of the sharing economy — a new marketing practice that links consumers, business and society through virtual networks
— offers various possibilities to bring the features of local lifestyles to tourists. House swapping, ride sharing, ‘couchsurfing’ and dinner hosting are examples
of ways to actualise the sharing economy in tourism. In Lapland, these kinds of sharing practices have traditionally been part of the hospitality culture: due to long distances and harsh weather conditions, locals have offered travellers
a ride or bed when it has been necessary.

Although everyday life provides a remarkable resource for tourism, reconciling the business of tourism and everyday practices is not a simple task. It is not obvious for tourism developers what is essential and relevant in local culture to be presented in tourism products, or how to do it. In this set of research notes, we present a preliminary analysis of several short Lappish stories reflecting and emphasising the local lifestyle of Lapland. These narratives are being collected by House of Lapland, Lapland’s official marketing and communications
house. In their campaign, the stories were shared through different social media channels. Written by local people, the narratives highlight ordinary aspects of everyday life in Lapland that may be attractive for potential inhabitants. These highlights may also suggest potential innovations for visitor experience
development and for the sharing economy in tourism.

Social responsibility is a key issue that has to be taken into consideration when developing tourism experiences based on the sharing economy. In some European cities, sharing economy tourism services have grown explosively withoutsustainable planning, causing problemsin local communities. The use of narratives written by local people to potential new locals as a basis for sharing economy tourism sustains social responsibility. Narratives can reveal what kinds of things locals want to share from their everyday life, as well as elements that should be protected.