CATS will hold the Tourism Online Forum Series (TOFS) vol.28 on Monday, December 18. Anyone is welcome to attend. We look forward to your participation.

Jingle All the Way: Community development through Christmas Tourism

Abstract:
In the spirit of the season, this presentation explores how Christmas tourism became a force of both community development and transformation. It does so by relying upon the case of Rovaniemi, the capital of Finnish Lapland.  Although Christmas tourism development started in the late 1960s, it was not until 2010 that Rovaniemi was officially recognized as the official hometown of Santa Claus. The presentation delves into the various dimensions of Christmas tourism, examining its impact on economic growth, local culture, and social life. By drawing on historical data and recent studies, we explore the role of strategic planning, political engagement, and community involvement in turning Christmas into a driver for tourism development. This presentation not only highlights the successes of Rovaniemi as a popular Nordic destination but also navigates through the challenges encountered along its development path.

Keywords: Christmas, tourism, destination development, community, Finland

Hosted by: Hokkaido University, Center for Advanced Tourism Studies (CATS)

Date/Time: Monday 18 December 2023   |   18:30-20:00(JST)

Venue: Online (Zoom Webinar)

Language: English

Capacity: 50 persons

Participation fee: Free to join (pre-registration system)

Speaker: Dr. José-Carlos García-Rosell
Bio:
José-Carlos García-Rosell is Professor of Business Ethics at Oulu Business School, University of Oulu, Finland. He has previously held a Senior Lecturer position at the University of Lapland, Faculty of Social Sciences, Multidimensional Tourism Institute (MTI). He also holds Associate Professor positions in Corporate Social Responsibility in Tourism at Tampere University and the University of Maribor. He works in the fields of corporate social responsibility, business ethics, and responsible management education. His current research agenda focuses on human-animal relations, responsible tourism experiences and experiential learning. He has published in a variety of journals such as Journal of Business Ethics, Management Learning, Journal of Marketing Management, Journal of Sustainable Tourism, Tourism Geographies, Tourism Recreation Research, and Journal of Teaching in Travel & Tourism. He has also co-authored several chapters for books published by Routledge, Palgrave McMillan, Springer, and DeGruyter. He played a key role in co-editing a book that delves into the role of Christmas tourism in Rovaniemi, Finland. Additionally, he contributed significantly to the creation of the “Christmas Experience Academy,” a summer school hosted by University of Lapland in close cooperation with tourism operators.

Moderator: Dr. Meng Qu

Registration:
Please register at the URL below. Application deadline is Sunday, December 17, 2023.
https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_6y_b6YgYSF-tA4mLyti7pQ

Contact:
Hokkaido University, Center for Advanced Tourism Studies (CATS)
online-forum(at)cats.hokudai.ac.jp
※Please replace the (at) part with @.