The Nordic Journey

Why Tourism is Broken with Doug Lansky

In this episode we talk to travel writer and keynote speaker Doug Lansky about what is wrong with tourism today and what needs to be done to fix it. Doug is a popular speaker on the topic of tourism and has recently published a book named Why Tourism is Broken and How to Fix It. We talk about his book and some of the examples of overtourism, mismanagement of tourism, tourism taxes and the protection of both the local environment and the local population. Enjoy the show!

The Original Originals - On Indigenous Tourism

In our 17th episode of the Nordic Journey podcast we continue to explore different venues of regenerative tourism, this time moving over to Canada to learn about indigenous tourism. Sébastien Desnoyers-Picard is from the Wendat Nation in Quebec City in Canada and the founder and CEO of Destination Original Indigenous Tourism (DO-IT). Sébastien talks to us about the value of indigenous tourism, the importants for the community and the different, more regenerative tourism approaches they use, which the more mainstream tourism could definitely learn something from. His organisation is now established in Canada, the US and New Zealand with more countries to follow, offering opportunities to indigenous tourism professionals to offer more authentic products for the benefit of their culture, heritage and community. Enjoy the episode.

Climate Change, the Arctic and Worlding

In our 16th episode of The Nordic Journey, we talk to Dr. Carina Ren from Aalborg University. Carina is joining us from Sisimiut in West-Greenland and will be telling us about her research on climate change, sustainable tourism development and the Arctic - and how coastal communities are adapting. Her current research project is Regenerative Economies in Arctic Coastal Communities. Here are some blogs and articles from Carina Ren for further reading: On Greenlandic tourism and the road to indpendence: https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/tourism-greenland-expanding-runway-towards-independence/ [https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/tourism-greenland-expanding-runway-towards-independence/] On Arctic Tourism: https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/arctic-tourism-industry/ [https://www.thearcticinstitute.org/arctic-tourism-industry/] From more tourism to better tourism: https://traveltrade.visitgreenland.com/latest-news/switching-focus-from-more-tourism-to-better-tourism/ [https://traveltrade.visitgreenland.com/latest-news/switching-focus-from-more-tourism-to-better-tourism/] Sustainability and tourism management in Svalbard and Greenland: Reference: Sveinsdóttir, A. G., Ren, C. B., Olsen, J., Hovelsrud, G. K., Dannevig, H., Bjørst, L. R., & Freng Dale, R. (2025). Navigating a changing Arctic: toward adaptive governance in Greenland and Svalbard. Tourism Geographies, 27(5), 1057-1077. Link: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616688.2025.2515098#abstract [https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14616688.2025.2515098#abstract] And finally if you want to learn more about Haraway's Worlding, you can check out this blog: https://thearchaic.nl/the-world-as-a-verb-on-harawayan-worlding-the-many-worlds-of-the-anthropocene/ [https://thearchaic.nl/the-world-as-a-verb-on-harawayan-worlding-the-many-worlds-of-the-anthropocene/] or her book: Haraway, Donna J. (2016) Staying with the Trouble. Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Durham & London: Duke University Press.

Resilience and Ecotourism in Iran

Iran is making headlines all over the world at the moment - and yet we are getting very little news from inside the country. What is happening, how are people coping, what is the impact on tourism?   There is of course no international tourism there due to the war, but the tourism operators are still there, trying to figure out what comes next. In this episode which was recorded on Friday March 27th, I spoke to Dr. Azam Bahrami, who teaches sustainability and regenerative tourism at the University of Mohaghegh Ardabili in Iran, when there is not war, but is currently living in the Netherlands. Azam gave us a little insight into her work for ecotourism in the Middle East and the resilience of the Iranian people and the tourism industry there.

Rewilding through Tourism

Can you use tourism for a rewilding biology project? In this episode we talk to Kim Worrmann Jensen, a former rock star and current sustainability champion from Destination Trekantsomådet in Denmark. He is the head of sustainability and has been developing products that are based on regenerative tourism concepts. One interesting project he has been working on and developing is the rewilding of Møllebækken, a small creek that had been put into underground pibes to make way for a new highway - killing all wildlife in it at the same time. Kim and his biology friends came to the rescue activating tourists from Germany and the Netherlands. Learn more about how he designed the project and the lessons learned which you can apply to your next regenerative tourism project.