Embracing Dark Sky Tourism in Northern Periphery and Arctic

GLOW2.0 focused on three main aspects: 1. Enhancing the capacity of SMEs in delivery, marketing and promotion of tourism offers involving dark skies; introducing enterprises to accessible immersive technologies (AR, VR); 2. Technology development of a virtual planetarium, 360-degree photography and star gazing applications, to be shared and adapted across the region; 3. Validation and promotion of Dark Skies tourism as a regional offer across the NPA area, which also serves as means of safeguarding natural assets; Why Darkness and Dark Skies? Without the night and darkness, ecological, cultural, scientific, aesthetic, economic and health and wellness values from darkness and dark skies are lost. These values are important also for tourism. Areas with little or no light pollution have have huge potential to enhance the tourism experience, while areas with significant light pollution, have possibilities to halt or reverse it (regenerating what is lost or almost lost). Darkness and Dark skies offers significant benefits for tourism economy, environment, and destination's residents. Ecological and Cultural values: Ecological tourism values from darkness are for example the role nocturnal pollinators and pest control insects play on biodiversity conservation and food security, which is essential part of tourism. Cultural values are for example the connection to nature, such as the night sky through history, narratives and place-based stories, and access to enjoying cultural heritage sites during evenings and nighttime. Aesthetic and Economic values: Aesthetic values are for example wonder and beauty of landscapes and heritage sites, and stellar visibility or night sky phenomenon such as starry nights, solar eclipses, meteor showers, the moon, planets and northern lights. Scientific values are for example the observations of the night sky; a resource integral to understanding the universe. Economic values consist among other tourism added value from darkness of nature experiences and related phenomenon for tourism, visitor satisfaction and recommendations, and energy cost savings from meaningful lighting at night. Health and Wellness values: Health and wellness values are traced from previously stated values. Examples are wellbeing of employees and satisfaction of visitors and local residents, tracing from good night sleep, the wellbeing of domestic and farm animals, and wellness/ heritage values from nature and biodiversity experiences. In GLOW2.0 project, outcomes were designed to be integrated into existing tourism strategies and offers on natural and cultural heritage to enable the enterprises to develop their own green business models. Green business can grow economically and reduce use of resources. Our aim was also to enable regions enhance their overall tourism offer and disseminate them across the NPA.