1. BIOTOUR WP1
Positioning the NBT sector within the Norwegian bio- economy
Project start-up meeting
Ås, September 15, 2016
Jan Vidar Haukeland

2. BIOTOUR, prosjektbeskrivelse
Bio-based economy, bio-economy – an economy based on renewable resources
Main perspectives to achieve:
Biological closed-loop systems and optimal resource utilization
Sustainability
Value creation
Interdisciplinary research
Nature-based tourism – or service Industries in general - is not easy to include in this production model
A suitable model for bio-based industries; fisheries, aquaculture, forestry and agriculture
Norges miljø- og biovitenskapelige universitet
BIOTOUR, prosjektbeskrivelse

3. BIOTOUR, prosjektbeskrivelse
Prioritized theme in the Research Council’s Work programme :
Service-based value creation
Includes: Outdoor activities and the tourism industry – Nature-Based Tourism (NBT)
BIOTOUR WP1:
Aim: Position the NBT sector within the Norwegian bio-economy
Norges miljø- og biovitenskapelige universitet
BIOTOUR, prosjektbeskrivelse

4. BIOTOUR WP1: Nature-based tourism in the Norwegian bio-economy
a) NBT sector analyses
b) Social change and trends
c) The NBT servicescape
d) Community resilience
WP2: Resource and product analyses
a) Modelling of risk-of-resource depletion
b) Landscape resource analysis
Case A: The composite adventure experience
Case B: The genuine wildlife experience
Case C: The pathfinder experience
Case D: The event experience
Case study themes
WP3: Market analyses
a) Integrated products
b) Segments
WP6: Outreach and communication
WP7: Project administration
WP4: Tourism actors and management
a) Motivations and profitability
b) Growth potentials
c) Management and interaction
WP5: Innovative tourism solutions
a) Packaged products
b) Market communication through ICT solutions
c) Knowledge driven entrepreneurships

5. WP1 Nature-based tourism in the Norwegian bio-economy
This WP will elaborate tourism’s contribution to the Norwegian bio-economy, understood as sustainable transformation of renewable biological resources into industrial products.
WP 1 approaches tourism in the Norwegian bio-economy in four different ways;
analysis of NTB supply structure,
analysis of social change and trends,
analysis of the NBT servicescape,
community resilience.
Four various approaches that are more or less interconnected.
In this respect, tourism is a double-edged industry, and the research will critically assess its dynamics in the wider environmental, social and economic policies. In this respect, tourism is a double-edged industry, and the research will critically assess its dynamics in the wider environmental, social and economic policies.
Will as a framework for the BIOUTOUR project (state of the art in theories and empirical investigations),
But also represent basis for new knowledge in the various subthemes

6. analysis of NBT supply structure
WP1
analysis of NBT supply structure
Definition of NBT firms: Commercial firms offering nature activities and experiences against payment.
Characteristics of the NBT sector in Norway as whole:
Volume (no. of firms, turnover, profit, size, employment, etc.)
Success criteria (growth, success and constraint related factors)
Entrepreneurship (motives, goals/ ambitions, professionalism)
Organization (business network, cooperation with public agencies)
Type of products (activities, experiences, packaging)
Customer orientation (domestic/ international, type of segments)
Natural resource dependency and interactions with local community
Inclusion of the four case study themes

7. WP1 analysis of NBT supply structure Empirical data;
Baseline date from 2013-survey of NBT firms (Stensland et al. 2014)
A national 2017 follow-up survey (with initial results report)
An additional survey will provide:
More valid results
Comparisons/ developments/ trends (volume, structure and characteristics of the NBT supply side)
Supply data tailored to other WPs in BIOTOUR and subtasks in WP1
Positioning of the NBT firms in BIOTOUR’s case study areas
Direct involvement from the NBT industry partners in BIOTOUR

8. WP1 ii) analysis of social change and trends
Objective;
Analyze social change and trends in NBT in Norway, and internationally
Critically assess the dynamics and future of NBT in wider environmental, social and economic contexts
Identify “mega trends” affecting tourism and associated natural resources; an input to identification of trends specific to NBT and the four thematic areas of BIOTOUR
Analyze more specifically participation trends in outdoor recreation activities of significance to NBT in Norway

9. WP1 ii) analysis of social change and trends
Method/ empirical data;
Systematic analysis of secondary data on outdoor recreation participation
Delphi method: Systematic literature studies as an input to two rounds of expert panels, i.e. 24 persons in five countries (Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Alp region and the US)
First step: To identify more general trends in the NBT sector
Second step: To identify more specific trends in the NBT sector, BIOTOUR thematic trends and future prospects in the sector
Third step: A report from the report from the second step us used as an input to the expert panel
Industry partners will be involved in the expert panels and the four case study themes will be covered
Data collection time frame:

10. WP1 iii) analysis of the NBT servicescape
Objective;
Analyze the role of the operational setting (servicescape) in the successful (co)creation of NBT experiences, i.e. study key features and conceptualize NBT from the supply side (the service setting)
Study relationship dynamics among various resource users and their (in)direct influence on the NBT operational setting: servicescape as a multifunctional landscape
Study strategic cooperation among service providers in an operational setting/landscape necessary for creating a holistic NBT experience(scape)
Analyze the less controllable/predictable factors in NBT servicescapes and the agency of NBT operators in navigating and acting upon them
The Servicescape – the setting where the tourist experience takes place – the concrete site where the production/ consumption happens. A complex mix of environmental features – various external factors have to be taken into consideration.

11. WP1 iii) analysis of the NBT servicescape
Method/ empirical data;
Baseline data from national NBT surveys in Norway and Sweden (requires input to and output from the national 2017 NBT survey)
Supplementary qualitative data including key stakeholders as regards case study themes A-D
Participation from case study tourism businesses and expert interviews with industry partners
Time frame:

12. WP1 iv) community resilience
Definition: Social resilience [is] the ability of groups or communities to cope with external stresses and disturbances as a result of social, political and environmental change (Agder 2000).
Objective; Analyze how the NBT sector can contribute to resilience in the wider society / local community, in terms of social, ecological and economical aspects
Social resilience:
NBT firms contribution to social capital and community resilience
NBT’s role in affecting local outmigration/ in migration
NBT firm owners’ roles in local community
Ecological resilience:
Contributions to providing a complementary source of income (reduce likelihood of crossing ecological thresholds)
Economic resilience
Contribution to livelihood diversity and local economic health
NBT can contribute to economic and social diversity in rural communities .
What would happen with and without the existence of these local entrepreneurs?

13. WP1 iv) community resilience
Method/ empirical data;
Baseline data from national NBT surveys in Norway (requires input to and output from the national 2017 NBT survey)
Supplementary qualitative interview data with NBT firms
Case study themes A, B and D will be focused
Participation from case study tourism businesses

14. WP1 Nature-based tourism in the Norwegian bio-economy
WP 1 approaches tourism in the Norwegian bio-economy in four different ways and supports the various BIOTOUR WPs;
analysis of NTB supply structure,
analysis of social change and trends,
analysis of the NBT servicescape,
community resilience.
Empirical underpinning
Theoretical underpinning