The Nordic Journey

Hjortur Smarason
  • 5.0 (2)
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  • UPDATED BIWEEKLY

A podcast about sustainable tourism development in the North, where we talk to thought leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists, amateurs and professionals who are pushing boundaries, not only from the Nordics but wherever in the World they may be, wherever we can learn something from them.

  1. Climate Change, the Arctic and Worlding

    4D AGO

    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/ On Arctic Tourism: 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/ 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 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/ or her book: Haraway, Donna J. (2016) Staying with the Trouble. Making Kin in the Chthulucene. Durham & London: Duke University Press.

    47 min
  2. Resilience and Ecotourism in Iran

    MAR 27

    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.

    54 min
  3. Rewilding through Tourism

    MAR 13

    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.

    43 min
  4. Lessons from the Kingdom of the Thundering Dragon

    FEB 27

    Lessons from the Kingdom of the Thundering Dragon

    High in the Himalayas, locked between the giant countries of India and China, is a small Kingdom that somehow has evaded colonialism and western influence for hundreds of years. This is Drug Yul, the Kingdom of the Thundering Dragon, better known as Bhutan. In this show we have as a special guest the former head of the national tourism board in Bhutan, Dorji Dhradhul, who is sharing with us his culture and perspectives. In Bhutan the government follows Gross National Happiness, where everything is measured on the impact it has on environment, community and governance. Dorji shares how they work with that, his two new books, a new City of Mindfulness that is under construction and the upcoming TedX-Thimpu. A different of looking at how we do things - and why we do them. Here are the titles of his books: Creativity - Time to Crown Again Bhutan - Kingdom of Mindfulness More information on the books can be found here: https://dojidhratyul.com/my-books/

    51 min
  5. Live Decently!

    FEB 16

    Live Decently!

    The antithesis to bullying, which we see too much of in the media nowadays, is to live decently - says Geoffrey Lipman, co-founder of SunX Malta, former Executive Director of IATA, former president of WTTC and former Assistant Secretary General at UNWTO. Together with Dr. Hans Friederich, a nature and conservation specialist with vast experience from Africa, Asia and Europe they are running Sun X Malta and the Climate Friendly Travel portal, a global initiative backed by the Maltese government that is aiming at promoting and educating tour companies around the world in sustainable thinking and climate action. (Something you might want to look into joining.) With their impressive resumes and experience they share their perspectives on the state of the travel industry, the challenges of sustainable tourism today and their concerns for tomorrow. An episode dedicated to the generation that is being born today.

    1h 1m
  6. The World Seen from Northern Greenland

    JAN 30

    The World Seen from Northern Greenland

    A twenty year old Japanese girl falls in love with sea kayaking - which leads her to one of the northern most villages of the world, Qaanaaq in North Greenland. Today we hear from Sakiko Daorana, one marriage, three children and twenty something years later, where she operates expeditions in this extremely remote corner of the world. Greenland has been getting a lot of attention recently and the village of Qaanaaq has in some ways, despite its extreme remoteness, been at the centre of both the cold war, and now the threats of taking Greenland. We are not going to discuss defence and geopolitics in this episode but rather learn more about this tiny little village at the top of the world, and the remarkable people that live there. This is the story of Sakiko-san and the Inuit of Qaanaaq.

    50 min
  7. The Sustainable Entrepreneur

    JAN 16

    The Sustainable Entrepreneur

    We head back to Norway in this episode, one of the leading countries when it comes to sustainable tourism. There we speak to a serial entrepreneur, Håvard Utheim, who has founded several companies with different angles and approaches to sustainable tourism, an adventure travel company, gear rental, travel tech company, accommodation company and a company focused on transparency in travel. Listen to his journey to where he is today and what he has learned along the way. In the podcast we talk about a practical book for companies who want to become more sustainable. The link to the book is here: https://www.transparency.travel Happy listening!

    55 min
  8. Good News to Start the Year

    JAN 2

    Good News to Start the Year

    In a World full of bad news, let's start 2026 with some inspiring, positive news. I have gathered a selection of news, mostly related to conservation and tourism and a couple outside of that. Reminders of what we can achieve when we really put our minds to it. How are we exactly doing? Where are we heading? Is tourism a contributor? When we read general news it feels like everything is going downhill but we are actually improving our situation. For the most parts at least. Listen to this episode of The Nordic Journey podcast and start the year on a positive note. Wishing you a happy and prosperous new year!

    34 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
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About

A podcast about sustainable tourism development in the North, where we talk to thought leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists, amateurs and professionals who are pushing boundaries, not only from the Nordics but wherever in the World they may be, wherever we can learn something from them.

Information

  • Creator
    Hjortur Smarason
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    16
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Show Website
    The Nordic Journey