Project title
Cultivating responsible tourists through educational tourism: Practice in the Arctic Capital, Rovaniemi, Finland
Research Unit
Primary investigator
Co investigators
YAMAGISHI Daijiro, MOCHIZUKI Nagisa
Project period
2025/5/1 ～ 2026/3/31
Project summary
Tourism education has conventionally been regarded as a means to cultivate competitive tourism professionals. However, in recent years, it has also played a crucial role in fostering more responsible tourists by encouraging engagement with various stakeholders involved in tourism phenomena (Yamaguchi et al., 2022).
This study examines how various forms of educational tourism are integrated into practices of tourism education and how they contribute to the development of responsible and sustainable tourism citizens. Furthermore, by adopting a relational pedagogical approach, this study seeks to expand the scope of tourism education and explore the potential of field courses that promote more ethical and caring tourism practices.
First, we will critically review and analyze current discussions on the significance of tourism education and develop a theoretical framework by examining philosophical debates related to four key concepts: Pluriverse, Subjectification, Values, and Embodiment.
Next, based on this framework, we will develop a field course in Rovaniemi, a city in northern Finland. Rovaniemi has recently faced challenges related to overtourism, with the number of visitors exceeding ten times the local population. Therefore, studying this case is expected to provide valuable insights into balancing the needs of local communities and the demands of the tourism industry. The course development will be conducted in collaboration with the University of Lapland, with cooperation from local stakeholders, including tourism businesses, residents, and government officials. This field course is planned to be implemented in the 2026 academic year as a program at the Faculty of Tourism, Wakayama University in collaboration with the University of Lapland.
Through this field course, we aim to provide students with an opportunity to reflect on and practice more engaging and caring forms of tourism, encouraging them to act responsibly—not only as future professionals in the tourism industry, but also as tourists themselves.
