Astro Tourism - A Possible Path to Sustainable Development through Narratives and Stories

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Master’s Programme in Sustainable Destination Development

Upps al a U niversity log oty pe

21 007

Degree project 30 credits June 2021

Astro Tourism - A Possible Path to Sustainable Development

through Narratives and Stories

Darina Gerasimova

Master’s Pr ogramme in Sustainable D esti nation D ev elopment

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Faculty of Science and Technology Uppsala University, Place of publication Visby

Supervisor: Carina Johansson Subject reader: Camilla Asplund Ingemark Examiner: Ulrika Persson-Fischier

Upps al a U niversity log oty pe

Astro Tourism - A Possible Path to Sustainable Development through Narratives and Stories

Darina Gerasimova

Abstract

This thesis focuses on the use of narratives and how they connect Astro tourism to

sustainability. This research is done from the viewpoint of the narrators and uncovers what narratives they have chosen to present to the visitors, their reasons to include those narratives, what messages they want to convey and how that relates to sustainability. This research was conducted in order to explore how narratives can be used together with Astro tourism to sustainably develop peripheral regions.

This thesis uses a qualitative approach with in-depth interviews and inquests. The informants are people who conduct narrated Astro tourism tours in different parts of the world.

The findings of this thesis are that in Astro tourism narratives can be used to educate, inspire, shape perceptions, raise awareness and develop environmental consciousness in people. The narratives can take part in the place, value and identity creation processes, can provide a sustainable competitive advantage, can link together the visual aspects and reconnect the visitors to nature and the past.

These findings can be used in the broader field of science about narratives and storytelling in the experience-based industry. On a more practical side it is recommended to include narratives that communicate ideas about sustainability that the narrators personally feel passionate about, and they should consider what kind of message they want to convey through them and how that will affect the customer’s experience.

Fac ulty of Sci enc e and Technol ogy, U ppsal a U niv ersity. Place of publication Visby . Supervisor: Carina Johanss on, Subj ect r eader: C amilla As plund I ngemark , Exami ner : Ulrika Persson-Fisc hier

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1. Introduction

1.1 Background

To explain my own interest in starting to research this topic about Astro tourism, narratives and sustainability of destinations, I need to share a short story about my last experience with the dark sky and a project I was part of before the start of the thesis.

On my way back from a day-long excursion with my father and my boyfriend in the peripheral parts of Bulgaria, I was gazing through the window of the car at the tall trees, the mountains, the sunset. It was beautiful and peaceful. However, as the night came and we passed through some villages, everything was soaked in darkness. There were only a few flickering lights, probably from candles, that came for very few of the houses. Sadness fell onto me that probably there is no power in those villages, or there are only a few old people living there, unable to afford to have electricity, but then I saw a light. It wasn’t coming from the villages, no, it was the sky. It was mesmerizing, it was incredible, so many stars, everywhere in the night sky. By living in the city for so many years I had forgotten that this is how the night sky actually looks like. Then I thought that even when there is so much darkness in these poor villages, hidden among the mountains, this breathtaking beauty of the dark sky, this brightness of the stars shows that there is hope.

The second inspiration to write this thesis came from a project on Astro tourism that I was doing together with my classmates as part of one of my courses. Although this project was about the development of Astro tourism in a specific area, I surprisingly learned that in some places there are narratives as part of the tour and that raised the questions in me: “Why are they included?” and

“How does that add to the entire dark sky experience?”

1.2 Statement of Purpose

In my research I will focus in particular on the use of narratives in Astro tourism, and I will try to link the findings to how that makes Astro tourism more tightly connected to sustainability.

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2 For my research I will analyze only the viewpoint of the narrators and I will try to uncover: what narratives they have chosen to present to the visitors, their reasons and motivations to include those narratives, what messages they want to send out through the narratives and how that relates to sustainability.

I want to do this research, because I believe that narratives are a sustainable way of creating an experience and that they can be used together with Astro tourism, which already is considered a sustainable practice, to develop peripheral regions. This topic is important and in lines with the current times, first because there are many regions, which are left undeveloped and the small towns and villages are disappearing in favor of the spread of the Metropolises; and second because with the rise of the current threats to the environment and the societies, achieving environmental, social and economic sustainability is becoming more and more important and every step, that helps humanity go into that path, is worth researching.

1.3 Research Question

The purpose of this research is to find and explore the different connections between narratives, sustainable development, and Astro tourism. To achieve this purpose, I will attempt to answer the research question: “How can narratives be used in Astro tourism in order to achieve sustainability?”

1.4 Methodology

Qualitative research, advantages and disadvantages

For the purpose of my thesis, I have decided to use a qualitative and inductive approach with semi-structured interviews. In order to answer my research question, it is important for me to uncover the opinions of people who are connected to stargazing tours about the use of narratives in Astro tourism and to get an understanding of their reasons for including their chosen narratives,

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3 and what messages they want to convey to the visiting people. For this purpose, the advantages of the qualitative research over quantitative research are the following: it usually focuses on words rather than numbers, it emphasizes the point of view of the participants, the theoretical elaboration emerges out of the rich data collection, and it is concerned with small-space aspects of the social reality (Bryman, 2012, p.380, p.408).

However, it is good to mention the disadvantages of the qualitative approach, which can pose limitations for my research. There are critics who believe that qualitative research is too impressionistic and subjective, and it is difficult to replicate, because it is believed to be unstructured and relies on the researcher’s ingenuity, and the responses of the interviewees are thought to be affected by the characteristics of the researcher (Bryman, 2012, p.405). However, I believe that I have laid out a clear structure of my thesis through the use of the concept of the three dimensions of sustainability and the theory about the narratives, storytelling and customer’s experience as guidelines throughout my research. I also don’t think that my personal characteristics have affected the answers I have received from the interviews and the inquests in a way that would be detrimental for the final results.

There are also expressed worries about the problem with generalization, since a few interviewed individuals can’t be representative of a population; however, the findings of the qualitative research generalize the theory, not the populations (Bryman, 2012, p.406). Compared to quantitative research the process of data analysis in qualitative research is unclear because it isn’t confined by strict guidelines (Bryman, 2012, p.406-407). I also think that, because of the careful selection of interviewees, asking proper follow-up questions, which require additional knowledge of the topic, and the transcription of the interviews, the data gathering part in qualitative research can be a time and labor-intensive process.

Methods for gathering qualitative data and sampling

The qualitative data collection phase for my thesis lasted from around the beginning of March 2021 until the middle of April. In this period, I have collected 6 in-depth interviews, which lasted around 1 hour, and 2 inquests. In my case the inquests were composed of short and open questions, which were sent through an email for the participants to answer. The method of sending

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4 out the inquests was used in order to receive more data from people who wanted to help with the data collection for my thesis but didn’t have enough time for an interview or had language difficulties.

The interviews were conducted with one person at a time, in English and through the online platform for communication - Zoom, which proved to be very helpful in times of pandemic when traveling was restricted. I found interviewing through Zoom also helpful, because it allowed me to record the interviews directly on my computer. However, I recognized that through online interviews it is hard to read the body language of the interviewees and therefore the focus was more on the words they said.

In order to find the needed data for my research, I decided to use purposive sampling, where the selected people are closely related to the researched topic (Bryman, 2012, p.416, p.418). My main criteria for the purposive sampling were people who conduct Astro tourism activities and have narratives during their stargazing tours. There are many places that don’t include narratives as part of their Astro tourism programs, however, the people in the sampling were selected because they would have knowledge about the use of narratives in stargazing tours and how that connects Astro tourism to different aspects of sustainability. I chose to exclude from my sampling the people who don’t include narratives, because my research question is about how narratives can connect Astro tourism to sustainability and it is beyond the scope of my study to find the differences between the experience in the stargazing tours with narratives and without narratives. My aim is not to compare the narrated and the non-narrated tours, but to focus and gather as much information as possible about the use of narratives in Astro tourism.

I also wanted to include in my data collection process participants who perform stargazing tours in different parts of the world in order to have a broader and diverse perspective on the use of narratives and stories in Astro tourism and to give my thesis a more international character. I sent emails to many countries that have astronomical tourism activities and the people who agreed and participated in my research are from: New Zealand, Namibia, Spain (Catalonia), USA (Nebraska), Sweden, USA (Wyoming), USA (Hawaii), Japan (see the Appendix 3 and Appendix 4 for more information on the participants in the interviews and inquests). Although I have 2 interviews and 1 inquest with people from the USA, they were located in different states and since

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5 the USA is a large and multicultural country, those interviews and inquests also contribute to enriching the international character of the sampling.

In the beginning I had some difficulties finding people to interview since I was aiming to interview participants who conduct narrated stargazing tours in different countries, and therefore I didn’t send too many emails to people in the same country. The process of finding participants suitable for the purposive sampling, who also conduct stargazing tours in different countries, was time-consuming, because it required careful research in various websites. Once I identified people who fitted with the criteria for the sampling, I sent them an email presenting myself and my research topic and asking them if they are willing to participate in an interview. If they were willing to participate in my research but had no time for an interview or had other difficulties, I offered to send an inquest instead. I chose to send emails to the participants who fitted the sampling instead of conducting phone calls, so that it is most convenient for them, because in that way they can have more time to decide whether they have the time and the interest to be part of my research. I also found emails more suitable, because if I happen to send the email to the wrong person, they can forward it and connect me to the person that is most fitting to participate in my research.

One of the uncertainties in qualitative research is that it is difficult to establish at the beginning how many people should be interviewed before a theoretical saturation has been achieved; however, the size of the purposive sample should balance between having enough data for theoretical saturation and not being so large that it would cause difficulties for the analysis (Bryman, 2012, p.425). Thanks to the 6 rich and in-depth interviews, and the detailed answers from the 2 inquests, I believe that I managed to achieve that balance and gather enough information to reach the needed level of saturation, because I have larger than initially expected rich data, where there is enough saturation of similar codes and themes to be able to create core themes and subthemes.

Even though I started with a long list of guideline questions for the interviews, after the first interview, I decided to take a more open approach and tried to focus more on open questions and follow up questions so that the interviewee can speak their minds freely (see Appendix 1 for semi-structured interview questions). Therefore, on many occasions some of the structure and content of the questionnaire was changed in order to better fit the topic discussed by the interviewee and to avoid forcing them to repeat information, which was already said. In the

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6 interviews I started with icebreaker questions, such as about the background of the interviewees and about their companies / the companies they work for. After that I asked about the stargazing tours and the narratives and stories that were used in the tours and through follow up questions I tried to determine how those narratives and stories connect to different aspects of sustainability. I found it very useful for my research that the questions in qualitative interviews should not be fixed and can change depending on the discussed topic. This allowed me to gather more insight on the topic that is most important for the interviewees and to learn about things which were originally not taken into consideration while composing the initial interview guideline.

The questions in the inquests were less as number and more open compared to those during the interviews so that the people who are responding to them can have more freedom in what to say and to give me a better understanding of what they consider significant in terms of the connection between Astro tourism, sustainability, and narratives (see Appendix 2 for more information about the inquest questions).

Ethical considerations in the research process

During the data collection phase of my thesis, I took into consideration the research ethics.

Although my research doesn’t use personal sensitive data and doesn’t affect the subjects physically and psychologically, and doesn’t entail an obvious risk of harming the subjects, it has been conducted while taking into account the ethical aspects of providing information about the research to the participants, obtaining their consent and not revealing their identities in the paper as discussed in “Good research practice” issued by The Swedish Research Council in 2017 (p.13, p.15).

In the emails to the selected potential participants, I included a short introduction of myself and described my research area so that the interviewees can be familiar with my topic and know what questions to expect during the interviews before they give their consent for an interview. The interviews were scheduled in comfortable time for the interviewees. In the emails I also stated the average time frame for the interviews: between 30 minutes to 1 hour / less than 1 hour, so that the interviewees can decide whether they can afford to spend that time and if they would prefer to be sent out an inquest instead.

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7 In the beginning of each interview and in the inquests, I stated that all of the information will be used only for the purpose of the thesis and that their identities will be kept anonymous, and I asked for their consent to record the interview for transcripts and data analysis. In order to keep their identities anonymous in the thesis paper I replaced their real names with other names, which are only connected to the country where they conduct Astro tourism activities at the time of the data collection. I chose to use different names instead of numbers to avoid the risk of depersonalizing them. I also decided to keep the names of the exact locations and the names of their companies / the companies they work in confidential in the thesis paper.

During the interviews I tried to keep a comfortable atmosphere and to be neutral. The fact that the interviews were conducted through Zoom meant that the interviewees could choose their own setting for the interview. If I wasn’t certain whether I understood something correctly, I asked the interviewee for their confirmation so that I can reduce the risk of misinterpretation or decontextualizing during the data analysis phase. During the interviews I didn’t notice any problems or disturbances.

The inquests were sent out and received through email, which allowed the participants to choose when and how much to write on the questions. They were also given the option to write outside of the posed questions if they wanted to share something important, which wasn’t included in the questions. Although respondents to the inquests didn’t write on topics outside of the questions, I believe that it is important to include such an option.

Reliability and validity

Important aspects of a research are reliability and validity. In terms of external reliability, since my research is qualitative and is based on semi-structured interviews as a data gathering method, it is difficult to replicate. During different stargazing tours, each tour guide has a level of freedom to choose which narratives and stories to tell and can have various reasons to do so, and also the local context as part of the stories shouldn’t be dismissed. Sustainability is also a complex concept, which can change in the course of time and many researchers have contrasting views on it. However, I believe that it is possible if another similar study is conducted, that some of the

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8 themes found in this study could appear again. In terms of internal reliability, since I am the only member of the research team, this part is not related to my research.

Internal validity is considered to be one of the strengths of qualitative research where the observations of the researcher match with the theoretical ideas that they develop (Bryman, 2012, p.390). Since my chosen method for data collection was qualitative in-depth interviews, this allowed me to develop a good understanding of the participants’ views regarding the use of narratives and stories and the connection of Astro tourism to sustainability.

The external validity is a problematic area in qualitative research, since the sampling size is small, and that limits the degree to which the findings can be generalized across social settings (Bryman, 2012, p.390). However, since there is relatively small amount of research on the relation between narratives, customers’ experience and sustainable development, I believe that even though the findings of my research can be difficult to generalize across a large social setting, they can prove useful for further research on creating a connection to sustainability through the usage of narratives and stories in experience-based activities. That can be achieved through using my findings about narratives in Astro tourism and parallel them to the use of narratives in other natural and cultural experiences and how the messages about sustainability and the overall enhancement of the customer’s experience compare.

Research limitations

The main limitations of my research are connected to the qualitative character of the research, which were listed in the Qualitative research, advantages and disadvantages part of this chapter and in connection to the reliability and validity. However, a delimitation which I have imposed on my research is that language in the interviews, the inquests, the sent emails and in searching for articles was English. I chose this delimitation because this is the language in which I feel most comfortable conducting research. I realize that I have missed information in articles which could have been in a different language, and I have missed the opportunity to interview people or sent out an inquest because I have sent the emails written in English and I have searched for potential participants in websites that are either written in English or have an English version

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9 option. The only exception to this is that I searched for participants to interview in Bulgarian websites; however, I couldn’t acquire any interviews or inquests from there.

A possible delimitation is that I chose to interview people who conduct stargazing tours in different countries and therefore I purposefully didn’t send out too many emails to the same country and instead sent a few emails to each country where I identified people who fitted the criteria for the purposive sampling. This delimitation extended the period for the data collection and I couldn’t use snowball sampling.

Another delimitation, which I decided on because of the limited time given to complete the thesis, and the current travel and activity restrictions due to the pandemic, was to focus entirely on the ideas and views of those telling the narratives and stories – the people connected to the stargazing tours, rather than on those who hear the narratives and the stories – the tourists / visitors.

Through my research I can generate theories about the narratives and stories that were used during the Astronomical tours by the tour guides; however, I cannot generate theories about the viewpoints of the tourists / visitors who have been on narrated stargazing tours and how the narratives affected their experiences and whether they were inspired or motivated towards sustainability in some way. For a better understanding of the tourist’s view and experiences, I would have needed to conduct a participant observation in a stargazing tour, which was almost impossible to conduct during the time of the writing of the thesis, due to the travel restrictions and financial requirements, and/or conduct in-depth interviews with such tourists, which would require much more time.

Data analysis

In the data analysis part, I decided to do a thematic analysis, which is one of the most common approaches to qualitative research and involves reading and rereading transcripts to define core themes and subthemes (Bryman, 2012, p.578, 579). I did the analysis by carefully reading and rereading the transcripts from the interviews and the received inquests and through the process of coding each interview and inquest, different themes were identified. The most prevalent themes, which connected to the subject of my research, were listed in the findings. The gathered data from the thematic analysis was reported in the language of the informants, which

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10 was taken from the transcripts after the interviews and the inquests and was modified only through the removal of filler words and multiple repetitions so that it fits better a written text and to avoid distractions during the data analysis. Reporting the identified themes through the usage of quotations from the interviews and inquests was done in order to keep the context and the meaning as close as possible to the original and to reduce the risk of fragmentation. The process of transcribing was done first through Microsoft Word online and after that manually. The thematic analysis of the interviews and inquests was also done manually.

1.5 Theoretical Approach

The theoretical approach aims to present the important theoretical concepts for the study and it will be further used as a prism for analysing the data and constructing the findings. The theoretical approach is separated in two main parts. First, I will present the theories, which form my perception of sustainability, sustainable tourism and the three dimensions model, and are useful for answering the research question. Second, I will list the important for this thesis theories and concepts about narrative and storytelling in tourism, and their connection to sustainability.

Sustainable development and sustainable tourism as concepts

Since the subject of the thesis revolves around a tourism practice such as Astro tourism and the search for connections with sustainability, it is important to present theory about both sustainability and sustainable tourism. In order to add a critical view on this subject, I will also include criticism on concepts by different researchers.

In the 1960’s tourism was viewed in mostly positive light due to the economic benefits which it provided. However, significant social and environmental problems, which can be linked to different tourism activities, became more and more apparent, such as climate change, biodiversity loss, cultural commoditization and others. (Rutty et al., 2015, p.36) With the evidence of the negative impacts and the continuous growth of the tourism industry arose the need to connect tourism to sustainability.

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11 The concepts of sustainable development and sustainable tourism have appeared in various materials since the 1980’s and have gained increasing popularity not only in academia, but also in the public and private sector. With the large number of papers written on those concepts and their relatively subjective nature it is normal that there are many different interpretations, which eventually can lead to conflicts. One of the sources which I found suitable to refer to for my theoretical approach is The Routledge Handbook of Tourism and Sustainability by C. Michael Hall, Stefan Gossling and Daniel Scott from 2015.

In the introduction to the book, Hall, Gossling and Scott start with the main concept of sustainable development – “Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs” (World Commission on Environment and Development [WCED] 1987: 49, cited in Hall et al., 2015, p.1); however, the authors acknowledge that World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) weren’t the first to start the concepts of sustainable development or sustainable tourism and the tourism aspect wasn’t emphasized in the report. Sustainable development and sustainable tourism are topics that are explored by many researchers, who analyse it using various approaches and methods.

This idea is also supported by Hoppwod, Mellor and O'Brien in their article “Sustainable Development: mapping different approaches” from 2005, where they state that although all advocates for sustainable development agree that there is a need for a change in the society, there are various perspectives, which are usually mixed with different political and philosophical views.

Transformative changes in society also depend on the cultural adaptability of the involved actors;

however, academia can assist in that process through education (Budeanu et al., 2016).

Sustainability deals with wicked problems, which are not easy to recognize, and they are entangled with multiple other complex problems and challenges; therefore, solving one part of the wicked problem can lead to many others. (Hall et al., 2015, p.1, p.6) The authors also reflect on the concept of sustainability, which is defined as a contested concept that is employed in the search for balance between the use of the resources, the economic development, and the natural environment.

In the chapter “Tourism and sustainability: An introduction” in their 2015 book, Hall, Gossling and Scott express that sustainable tourism is a part of sustainable development, where the focus is on qualitative development rather than on the quantitative rise of the capital. Budeanu

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12 et al. (2016) state that tourism has a long tradition of sustainable initiatives and is one of the first sectors to establish definitions, principles, strategies and plans for ‘sustainable tourism’. Budeanu et al. (2016) also state that while there is a growing evidence for the market transition, the transformation falls behind the rising amount of academic texts on sustainable tourism.

Criticisms about the evolution of the concepts of sustainable development and sustainable tourism are expressed in the articles “Sustainable Tourism as an Adaptive Paradigm” (1997) by Hunter and “Critical Sustainability: Setting the Limits to Growth and Responsibility in Tourism”

(2014) by Saarinen. Hunter (1997) explains that the concept of sustainable tourism evolved separately from the general concept of sustainable development and this has led to oversimplification of the concept, inflexible methods and lack of clarity and details. Saarinen (2014) identifies that due to the multifaceted and vague nature of the sustainable tourism concept, appear different frustrations, questions about responsibility, lack of clarity in the meaning of the concept and lack of applicability.

Another criticism of the conceptualization and representation of sustainable development comes from Higgins-Desbiolles (2018) who finds ambiguity in the concept of sustainable development and identifies it as very anthropocentric, because it emphasises the use of natural resources for human needs alone, ignoring the needs of other species. Higgins-Desbiolles (2018) also investigates the shift of the meaning of sustainable development into “sustainable growth”, which eventually becomes “sustained growth”, which is defined as the essence of unsustainability.

Another misunderstanding is that when sustainable development is referred to, it is regarded to be about the development of tourism, without taking into account the society and the environment (Hunter, 1997). Hunter (1997) suggests that usually the tourism researchers are following the weak stance on sustainability and are searching for the balance between destination area tourism and environmental tourism. The author expresses that there is a need to connect sustainable tourism to the sustainable development framework and to improve the tourism-centric model. According to Hunter (1997) sustainable tourism should be perceived as an overarching paradigm, instead of trying to balance demand, supply, host community needs and desires, and consideration of impacts on environmental resources. Saarinen (2014) argues that the concept of sustainable tourism should be re-shaped into a less tourism-centric industry, which should function on the local-global scale, and it should be reframed how the limits of growth are set in the policies

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13 and practises. Higgins-Desbiolles (2018) also implies that tourism needs to be understood and managed in wider systems and adds that it should be clear that tourism plays a significant role in the unsustainability of the growth model and the cultural ideology of consumerism behind it.

Budeanu et al. (2016) recognises that the doubts about the viability of the sustainable concept in tourism are common, however, a better understanding of the limitations of the concept has led to the agreement that social transitions to sustainability is a multifaceted process.

The three dimensions of sustainability

In the chapter “The evolution of sustainable development and sustainable tourism”, Hall, Gossling and Scott present the concept of the three dimensions, also called ‘pillars’ of sustainability: economic, social and environmental. Economic sustainability focuses on generating prosperity for the society, and on the viability of economic enterprises to be maintained for a long period of time. Social sustainability represents the respecting of human rights, equal opportunities, equitable distribution of benefits in the society and recognition and strengthening of different cultures. The environmental sustainability reflects on the conservation and maintenance of natural resources and the protection of biological diversity and natural heritage (Hall et al., 2015, p.27).

The traditional model where the three dimensions are represented as separate, but connected rings has the implication that each sector is partially independent. According to Hoppwod et al. (2005) this view is often used by defenders of the status quo to search for the lack of sustainability in the inappropriate management in a specific part, rather than analysing the fundamental whole. This allows for the perspective that there could be trade-offs between environmental and social issues and that further continues the conceptual divide between environment and humanity. However, humanity is dependent on the environment and the society lives within it just like the economy exists within the society (Hoppwod et al. 2005).

Thanks to the theories in the theoretical approach my main take on sustainability is that sustainability is a complex and multidimensional topic and sustainable tourism as a concept should be regarded as an inseparable part of it. What makes the theory of sustainable development and sustainable tourism even more complex is the vast number of written materials on them, which

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14 usually contain different political and social perspectives mixed within them. In this part of the theoretical approach, I included the theories about sustainable development and sustainable tourism that represent best my viewpoint on the concepts, and which would be most useful for analysing the main theme of the thesis: sustainability in Astro tourism through narratives.

I believe that the concept of sustainable tourism should be an ‘overarching paradigm’ as Hunter (1997) suggests, and that the three dimensions of sustainable development and the ‘wicked problems’ that arise need to be seen as inseparable, interconnected and interdependent. The economy dimension operates within the society for its prosperity and is limited by the environment.

Although trade-offs are seen by some as part of searching for the balance between each dimension, the occurring environmental and social problems imply that there is a need for a more transformative approach that doesn’t pose a risk for the three dimensions. Since my thesis is based on the searching for sustainability in Astro tourism, I have to focus on the three dimensions and their connections during my research process. Reflecting on the article from Budeanu et al. from 2016, I believe that education through academic texts can help society transition to a more sustainable future and hopefully my thesis can be one small step in the vast staircase towards that change.

Narratives, tourism and sustainability

Narratives are an important part of any type of tourism, including Astro tourism. They can be used in multiple ways and can have an impact on the sustainable development in different destinations. Similar to sustainability, the theory and the perceptions about the usage of narratives in tourism is very rich, therefore, for the subject of my topic I have decided to focus in my theoretical approach on the place-creation, place-identity, the meaning-making elements of narratives and the achievement of sustainability through them.

In the article from Birkeland from 2015 “The Potential Space for Cultural Sustainability:

Place Narratives and Place-Heritage in Rjukan (Norway)” examines the changing cultural attitudes of people living in in the previously industrial town of Rjukan and the effect of place narratives on the overall perception of the town. One of the narratives contains a sustainable vision for the future of the town, while the other focuses only on the de-industrialization problem. Since narratives can

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15 uphold a grand global narrative and can influence the opinion of the people living in that town, they carry a great weight in place-creation, place identity, legitimizing different purposes and shaping the sense of belonging (Birkeland, 2015). The article uncovers the link between the concept of cultural sustainability and narratives through the narrative approach to culture, where culture is a medium for the creation of meanings and visions for sustainability. Birkeland stresses that cultural sustainability can be achieved as a social process through narratives that connect the past and the future and the local with the global. By managing and transforming those different aspects place narratives help in the process of place-creation (Birkeland, 2015, p.5).

Another article that examines the role of narratives in place-creation and in making the qualities of an area visible is from Roura from 2009 – “The Polar Cultural Heritage as a Tourism Attraction: a Case Study of the Airship Mooring Mast at Ny-Ålesund, Svalbard.” Roura analyses the use of narratives in the creation of tourism attractions through building a story around a site or an object and creating a connection between the present and the past. Roura emphasizes the significance-making aspect of narratives and that places with narratives are seen in tourism terms as important and worth visiting, while places without narratives have less appreciation from tourists. If we make a comparison between the article of Roura (2009) and that from Birkeland (2015), it becomes evident that narratives play an important role in the place-creation and identity- creation and influence the perceptions and opinions of both the people living there and the visiting tourists.

Narratives impact the social construction of tourism sites also through myths and fantasy play. They can be used to organize tourist’s expectations and observations – the tourist’s gaze, and the institutions, policies, communities and places that are being gazed at by the tourists (Amoamo, 2016, p.13). Narratives can also be used in natural and cultural heritage conservation through the interaction of mythology and community narratives (Hayombe et al., 2014).

Storytelling and the creation of tourist’s experience

Apart from creating the place, the identity and affecting the tourist’s gaze, narratives also participate in the shaping of the tourist’s experience through storytelling. Since storytelling has an

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16 important role in shaping Astro tourism tours, in this part of the theoretical approach I will present theory about the usage of storytelling in tourism and the way it can create customer’s experience.

An important aspect of stories is that they not only convey information but are also charged emotionally and symbolically, and storytelling aims to enrich the information and build a story around a concept (Mei et al., 2018, p.2). Storytelling is a social activity with the function to attract people’s attention and to lead them away from negative thoughts and towards a positive mindset and helps with the creation of meaningful experiences (Mei et al., 2018, p.2). Stories speak to the human needs, carry over values and principles from generation to generation and stimulate people’s imagination and emotions (Mossberg, 2008, p.3)

Currently there is a global trend in the experience industry, of which tourism is part, that focuses on building a business, an attraction, a service, or a destination around a story. The story can build a holistic view of a concept, can influence the image of an organization, and can create an experience for the customers (Mossberg, 2008, p.2-3). The tourism industry is more than just the exchange of services and using stories in experience-based activities has become increasingly important, because tourists don’t want to purchase just a product or a service, they want memorable and unique experiences (Mei et al., 2018, p.1-2; Moscardo, 2015, p.296). In this way the inclusion of storytelling as part of the tourism activities becomes a sustainable competitive advantage for tourism companies and businesses (Mei et al., 2018, p.3,4,9; Kim & Youn, 2017, p.1,4). The adoption of dramaturgical approaches in storytelling can also increase the tourist’s attention to the stories (Moscardo, 2015, p.298).

Storytelling can be also further affected by the experiencescape through the physical, social and cultural context (Mei et al., 2018, p.9). Experiencescape is an experimental space filled with emotion, mindfulness, engagement and personal meaning (Chen, 2021, p.5) It is a blend of both physical and social elements that affect the customer’s experience and can be defined as a canvas for the consumption experience, which is highly personal, subjectively perceived and intangible (Baker and Kim, 2020, p.151).

An experiencescape with clear boundaries can enhance the intensity of the experience and can facilitate immersion among the visitors (Blumenthal and Jensen, 2019, p.2). Experiencescapes can also function as part of the phenomenon of global interlinkage, where they can be located in different cultural geographies but are also part of a larger global economy and the larger

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17 transitional flow of culture is not easily bound to one place, region or nation (O'Dell, T., 2005, p.17).

Another important aspect in staging believable and immersive stories, that can affect the tourist, is authenticity. If tourists perceive a story as authentic, then they will be likely more affected by that story. However, even though authenticity refers to original or historical facts and is described as a form of reality, it is also socially and individually constructed and the negotiated perception of reality is relative and dependent on a context (Kim & Youn, 2017, p.2). Mei et al.

(2018, p.10) propose that since people have different perceptions of authenticity, the focus should be on making a unique story, based on the available resources. According to Mossberg (2008, p.14) a unique story has a concept that is difficult to be copied.

What makes experiences different from services is that they are personal, interactive, and focused on emotions and feelings, which requires the active participation and immersion from the customers (Mei et al., 2018, p.3). In order to be immersed in a story the tourists need to step out of the ordinary world into a state where they can observe, participate and play roles outside of the norms before returning back to the ordinary (Mossberg, 2008, p.8).

The complex phenomenon of customer experience can’t be made by the tourism operator for the tourists. The tourism operator can only stage the context for the tourist to achieve the experience as a mental response to the stimulus in the environment (Mei et al., 2018, p.3). The tourism operator or the tour guide can help with providing the prerequisites for a meaningful experience; however, there also needs to be room for the tourist to participate in the creative process. Through co-creation, the tourist becomes more immersed in and captivated by the story (Mossberg, 2008, p.9).

I believe that in Astro tourism an important part of the customer’s experience is the visual side of the tours. Visuality is about how the vision is constructed and how people see, how they are able, allowed or made to see or see the unseeing (by Foster quoted in Rose, 2016 p.2-3).

According to Rose (2016, p.3) what is seen and how it is seen are both culturally constructed.

From this part of the theoretical approach, it became evident that both narratives and storytelling have an important impact on tourism and sustainability. Narratives can be employed

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18 for achieving sustainability through place-creation, place identity, natural and cultural conservation. While storytelling, apart from conveying valuable and authentic information about the site/activity, can be used for the creation of positive and memorable experiences for the tourists and can be used as a sustainable competitive advantage for the destination/company. The theories about storytelling and customer’s experience will be useful for analyzing the stories that the different Astro tourism operators include as part of their tours and understand in what way they connect to the concepts about sustainable development and sustainable tourism presented in the first part of the theoretical approach.

1.6 Former Research

Since this thesis focuses on the connection between Astro tourism and sustainability, the purpose of the former research is to familiarize the reader with previous studies on this topic.

Although Astro tourism is a very vast field, for the purpose of my thesis I have chosen to present articles which give the reader an overall perspective of how previous authors analyzed the effects of Astro tourism on different aspects of the environment, society and economy, and connect to the theme of my thesis. In order to add a broader and international perspective to my former research part, I have decided to include relatively recent articles from researchers that are from various countries and analyze different locations in their articles. Such an international perspective is important, because it not only falls in terms with my decision to have participants in my qualitative data collection that come from different parts of the world, but it would also help me understand how Astro tourism is perceived in different countries.

I have decided to structure the former research part into four sub-parts. First, I will provide information about the background of Astro tourism and how it is conceptualized in the field of tourism. After that I will refer to previous studies about the effects of Astro tourism on destination development. Then I will present the connection between Astro tourism, ecotourism, education and light pollution. Last, I will identify a possible research gap.

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19 The conceptualization of Astro tourism

Ever since ancient times people have been attracted to the cosmic phenomena and to the universe. The night sky and the cosmic bodies have played an important role in the development of human civilization through orientation, navigation, agriculture, calendars, celebrations, storytelling, telling the time for harvest and seasons, etc. (Fayos-Solà et al., 2016, p.56, Soleimani et. al., 2019, p.4, Kunjaya et al., 2019, p.7). The evidence for their observations, discoveries and interpretations can be seen in many countries in the form of cave paintings, myths, narratives, sacred sites, archeoastronomical milestones, etc. (Paskova et al., 2021, p.1, p.6, Fayos-Solà et al., 2016, p.56). The legacy of the ancient civilizations about the universe is marked as tangible and intangible heritage and is protected by UNESCO through astronomical heritage programs (Paskova et al., 2021, p.2, Rodrigues et al., 2014, p.3-4).

Nowadays people continue to wonder about the universe, and this is reflected in the creation of Astro tourism. Astro tourism combines elements from science such as observatories and scientific data, elements from culture such as heritage sites and practices connected to Astro tourism, and the natural resource of the dark sky and the nightscape (Fayos-Solà et al., 2016, p.56).

Over the years Astro tourism has expanded its definition from a type of tourism where customers pay to travel into space into a type of tourism that uses the natural resource of the unaffected by light pollution night skies and conducts cultural, natural and astronomical activities (Fayos-Solà et al., 2016, p.56).

An important element in the conceptualisation of Astro tourism is the function of the unpolluted night sky as a natural resource in Astro tourism as seen in Fayos-Solà et al. (2016).

Although stargazing doesn’t deplete this resource in any way, Fayos-Solà et al. (2016) argue that the dark night sky is becoming a scarce resource with the increase of the night lighting and the atmospheric pollution. Fayos-Solà et al. (2016) define Astro tourism as a bridge between science and tourism, which opens new opportunities for locations with unpolluted dark skies and specific product offerings, and motivates the formation of alliances for starry nights, science, culture and nature. Such alliances and associations, for example the International Dark Sky Association, play an important role for the protection of the dark sky sites for the future generations.

Astro tourism, which is a short form of astronomical tourism, is also called celestial tourism and dark sky tourism. I chose to use the name Astro tourism in my paper, because I was inspired

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20 by the research Soleimani et al. (2019) conducted regarding the conceptualization of Astro tourism.

The majority of the people interviewed in the research thought that the name Astro tourism captures best the elements of the sky observation tours, because it is clear, understandable and defines the whole aspect of astronomy (Soleimani et al., 2019, p.11). According to Soleimani et al. (2019, p.12) the names and definitions that were proposed in their research are credible to be used in future studies. I agree with the suggestions made by Soleimani et al. (2019), because the name Astro tourism is easy to remember and envelops the entire aspect of the main activities that it includes, which is the observation of astronomical objects.

In my thesis I will focus only on the terrestrial side of Astro tourism, which includes activities related to observing various astronomical phenomena from Earth. Such phenomena are solar and lunar eclipses, meteor showers, planets, auroras, starry nights and even sunsets in picturesque and natural settings (Paskova et al., 2021, p.5). Other terrestrial Astro tourism activities include night tours and visitation of planetariums, locations with impact craters and places, related to ancient cosmic observations and rituals (Paskova et al., 2021, p.14).

Although the activities are connected to observing the celestial bodies, Astro tourism depends also on the physical attributes of the destination, where the landscape is as important as the skyscape (Soleimani et al., 2019, p.6-7,). In naked eye observation the tourists gaze at the complete scene and what can be seen within a particular area in the sky (Tadić, 2016, p.1, p.4).

Looking back at the theoretical approach and the creation of the customer’s experience through storytelling, appears another connection between Astro tourism and narratives and that is the usage of the complete scene to create an experience for the tourists.

Another connection between the theory about the customer’s experience and Astro tourism can be seen in Paskova et al., (2021, p.13) where they state that Astro tourism allows people to experience and understand the surrounding universe while bringing a perception of one’s position in space and a transcendence of oneself as a terrestrial being. Astro tourism can bring a sense of calm, joy and freedom in the practitioners while also providing the possibility for them to learn more about astronomy and astrophotography (Paskova et al., 2021, p.13).

The definition of Astro tourism, which includes both space tourism practices and terrestrial tourism practices with astronomical elements, can cause some confusions with the use of names in the conceptualization. For example, it is normal for recreational visitors that pay to travel in

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21 space to be called astrotourists (Carter, 2010, p.1-2), however, tourists who engage in stargazing and observing activities from Earth also share the same name (Soleimani et al., 2019, p.12).

According to Carter (2010, p.2), the name Astro tourism within the accepted terminology used by aeronautics can be selected for a practice that “escapes the confines of this world”, while space tourism is left for the broad tourism industry sector. However, in Duval & Hall (2015) space tourism as a name is particularly used to refer to tourism involving a travel in space. According to Paskova et al. (2021, p.3) space tourism consists of five components: stratospheric flights, suborbital flights, low-orbit space flights, virtual flights and observation of spacecraft launches on spaceports. Although both terrestrial and orbital tourism practices often fall in the category of Astro tourism, the differences between them are significant. For example, in terms of sustainability:

unlike terrestrial Astro tourism, which in some cases is considered closer to ecotourism (Paskova et al., 2021, p.3, p.20), tourism in space can cause significant environmental problems arising from the orbital detritus from the launch vehicles, the decommissioned or non-functioning orbital vehicles and the effects of the emissions released in the Earth’s atmosphere (Duval & Hall, 2015, p.450).

Astro tourism is conceptualized as a growing special-interest tourism that takes place in a nature-based setting (Jacobs et al., 2020, Soleimani et al., 2019, Ingle 2010). According to Soleimani et al. (2019), special-interest tourism sites offer distinguishing and niche products for specific audiences, which help Astro tourism sites to compete with other destinations. Paskova et al. (2021) acknowledges that, based on many research results, Astro tourism is in the category of special-interest tourism; however, they also suggest that it shouldn’t be perceived only in that category. Some Astro tourism activities, such as observing the night sky with a naked eye, can take the form of professional mass tourism (Paskova et al., 2021, p.1,13, 18).

As a concept, Astro tourism combines two types of tourism activities – terrestrial tourism, which focuses on stargazing, and space tourism, which has stratospherical and orbital flights. Both types of Astro tourism are united under the human’s interest in astronomy, the desire to learn more about the universe and to experience something unique. This fascination for the night sky and astronomical phenomena has existed since ancient times and has affected the development of

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22 human civilization. In order to narrow down the scope of my research I decided to research only about the terrestrial Astro tourism experiences.

Astro tourism in destination development

Although Astro tourism is a relatively new topic in the academic fields, there are many different articles analyzing various aspects of the subject in the development of tourism destinations. For the purpose of my thesis I have decided to look into articles examining the specifics for starting Astro tourism in a destination, the impacts on the place-creation through astronomy and the economic and social benefits. I will refer to the environmental benefits as part of the preservation of the dark sky in the third part of the former research.

Astro tourism destinations can be created in various types of areas: mountainous, rural and islands (Paskova, 2021, p. 20) and it is a location-specific type of tourism (Jacobs et al., 2020, p.3).

It is regarded as a sustainable form of tourism (Kunjaya et al., 2019) that can develop peripheral areas (Jacobs et al., 2020). Rural areas usually have low population, low economic activity, are often surrounded by open areas and require high transaction costs due to poor infrastructure and being located far from urban areas; however, due to the hit on the international tourism because of the pandemic, the importance of rural tourism is rising (Kanianska et al., 2020, p.2). Since Astro tourism is a more community oriented and protective form of tourism that doesn’t need maintenance and is completely unique, it is perfect for improving the economic status of rural tourism destinations (Jacobs et al., 2020, p.3). If there is a good ecosystem support and a cooperation between the observatory management, the Astro tourism activists and the surrounding community, Astro tourism can have a big economic potential, can support the existing tourism industry and the community, and can protect the dark sky for astronomical research (Kunjaya et al., 2019, p.2, p.8).

Reflecting further on the geographical area used for Astro tourism, destinations, which are considered too rough and remote for traditional tourism, can have the potential for Astro tourism practices. Such is the semi-desert arid and desolate region of Karoo in South Africa, where the vast ‘nothingness’ in the area is what makes it suitable for astronomical activities. Ingle (2010) looks into how the ideas of ‘nothingness’ and ‘space’ through the prism of the romantic gaze, the

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23

‘sublime’ and astronomy can change the perception of the area from being “one of the most forsaken and depressing spots on this earth” (Ingle, 2010, p.4) into an Astro tourism area that has potential socio-economic benefits for the local inhabitants. The reshaping of the image of an area through astronomy and Astro tourism can be further related to the place-making function of narratives, which was presented in the theoretical approach. This creates an interesting connotation about the deeper connection between Astro tourism and narratives.

Astro tourism can be developed in both large and small countries as long as there are the needed requirements for astronomical-related activities. However, Tadić (2016) proposes that small countries, like the Balkan countries, can compete against larger Astro tourism destinations through naked eye astronomy. This is the more ‘discreet’ form of Astro tourism, as defined by the author, in comparison with the more elite form that includes spacecrafts, planetariums, and observatories.

Astro tourism is also becoming an increasing practice in national parks. In the article of Mitchell and Gallaway from 2019 it is stated that the dark sky is a factor that attracts the interest of more and more tourists in national parks. According to the authors, having more visitors for astronomical purposes can lead to a more efficient use of the tourism resources throughout the year in the national parks. Mitchell and Gallaway (2019, p.1, p.9) write that dark sky ecotourism is a multi-billion-dollar industry for the national parks on the Colorado Plateau in the USA and the overnight stays can lead to large economic benefits for the local communities, especially during the off season. Apart from the substantial economic potential for national parks, Astro tourism can also provide a means for maintaining the quickly disappearing ecological and recreational amenity that is the dark sky (Mitchell & Gallaway, 2019, p.1-2).

Another article about the emergence of Astro tourism in national parks is from Collison and Poe (2013), which, similar to Mitchell and Gallaway (2019), discusses the economic impact of Astro tourism. What both articles uncover is that the economic benefits from Astro tourism rely on the overnight stays. During the evening components of the astronomy programs, tourists out of necessity stay in the park or in near vicinity and pay for lodging, food and other products (Collison

& Poe, 2013, p.12). Collison and Poe (2013) also reflect on the dark sky protection and recovery and the impact of the International Dark Sky Association and the United States National Park Service in those processes.

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24 From this part of the former research, it becomes evident that Astro tourism can be developed in various locations in countries in different parts of the world as long as it has suitable tourism resources and a dark night sky. In terms of sustainable tourism development, Astro tourism is considered to be a more community-oriented and protective form of tourism that can re-shape the perspective of the location into a more positive and attractive outlook and, if conducted properly, can bring economic benefits for the local communities. Astro tourism initiatives also play an important role in the protection of the dark sky and an increasing number of tourists are becoming interested in them.

Astro tourism, ecotourism, education and light pollution

In this part of the former research, I want to present the perspective of previous researchers on Astro tourism, education and light pollution.

First, when discussing how Astro tourism connects to sustainability it is good to make a comparison between Astro tourism and the – generally considered unsustainable – part of tourism that is mass tourism. In the previous parts of the former research, Astro tourism has been defined as a special interest tourism and it can also be added that Astro tourism is a new form of tourism that stands out from mass tourism, since it is intended for individuals or small groups (Belij &

Tadic, 2016).

As mentioned in the conceptualization part, a different opinion is shown in the article from Paskova et al. (2021, p.2, p.10) where they state that some forms of Astro tourism resemble mass tourism, where the organized tours with complete timetable security, etc., cause devaluation of the experience. There is also the fear that the promotion of Astro tourism destinations can cause progressive harm (Paskova et al., 2021, p.13). However, Astro tourism activities, which allow the practitioners to appreciate and value the uniqueness of the astronomical phenomena and enable the spread of knowledge and awareness about the protection of the environment are considered to be sustainable and have a characteristic closer to ecotourism (Paskova et al., 2021, p.3, p.20).

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25 Weaver (2011) further elaborates on the idea that Astro tourism or, as it is called in the article, celestial tourism, can be defined as a type of ecotourism through activities which are focused on observation and appreciation of celestial phenomena. Kanianska et al. (2020, p.1-2) agree with this idea and add that since its greatest assets don’t need maintenance and development and are always available and unique, it is one of the most sustainable forms of tourism. Weaver (2011, p.6) reminds us that like other forms of ecotourism the act of observation can have a significant impact on the area, for example the observatories and other facilities have a substantial footprint and consume energy and other resources. However, C-Sánchez et al. (2019, p.2) point at the aspect that ecotourism is about learning and the maximization of positive ecological and socio- cultural impacts.

Blundell et al. (2020), Soleimani et. al (2019) further elaborate on the idea about spreading knowledge through Astro tourism. According to them, tourists can be stimulated to learn more about astronomy. Furthermore, influenced by the educational aspect of Astro tourism programs, when tourists return to their homes, they can consider how to reduce the impact of the artificial lighting on the night sky from their homes and workplaces (Collison, & Poe, 2013, p.12). Blundell et al. (2020, p.5) also stress that sustainability, ethics and education are crucial for achieving sustainable Astro tourism. Weaver (2011, p.7) analyses that through celestial ecotourism the observers can be educated and encouraged to preserve the dark skies and restore the areas in which the dark skies have been lost due to light pollution and other anthropogenic activities. Collison and Poe (2013, p.8) also accept that night sky viewing sessions can be used to present to people the need to reduce the artificial lighting at night. In this way celestial ecotourism has the potential to emphasize the improvement of the existing environmental conditions instead of following the idea of ‘status quo sustainability’, which focuses on ‘leaving no trace’ (Weaver, 2011, p.7).

An important part of the narrative concerning Astro tourism is about light pollution. Light pollution, also called ALAN (artificial light at night), is increasing globally and due to the change in the natural environment from the excessive night brightness various fields of research have recently become involved in assessing its effects (Lima et al.,2016, p.2). As explained on the website of the International Dark Sky Association (https://www.darksky.org/light-pollution/), light pollution is the excessive use of artificial lighting and it is separated into: glare, the brightness which causes visual discomfort; skyglow, which is the brightness of the night sky; light trespass,

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26 which is the presence of light in an area where it is not intended or needed; and clutter, which is the bright and excessive grouping of light sources. It is a side effect of the industrial civilization, and it is produced by “building exterior and interior lighting, advertising, commercial properties, offices, factories, streetlights, and illuminated sporting venues” (https://www.darksky.org/light- pollution/). According to the International Dark Sky Association much of the artificial lighting is inefficient, unnecessary, overly bright and wasting electricity by “spilling into the sky rather than focusing it on to the actual objects and areas that people want illuminated”

(https://www.darksky.org/light-pollution/). Wasting light is wasting energy and the indirect effects of light pollution include additional consumption of natural resources and consequent increase in air pollution (Lima et al., 2016, p.4). This waste of resources shows that light pollution is economically and environmentally unsustainable.

Light pollution hinders not only astronomical observations, but it also causes serious problems for the different forms of life in the biosphere (Paskova et al., 2021, Priyatikanto et al., 2019, p.1) and is increasingly recognized as a serious environmental problem that interferes with the normal behavior of animals, especially the nocturnal, and some types of flora and it can have devastating impacts on both ecology and aesthetics (Mitchell & Gallaway, 2019, p.2). It disrupts the natural cycle of terrestrial and aquatic species that rely on ambient light and it is noted as a public health hazard by the American Medical Association (Rodrigues et al., 2014, p.4-5). The light quality influences the growth and development of plants and in vertebrates it impacts the production of melatonin, which affects the circadian regulation (sleep-awake cycle) (Kanianska et al.,2020, p.3) and light at night disrupts the sleep, hormone regulation, and metabolism (Lima et al.,2016, p.4).

Light pollution has negative effects also on the socio-cultural aspect, an example of that is from Paskova et al., (2021, p.5) where it can have negative effects on the indigenous cosmological knowledge and navigation skills. The International Dark Sky Association also discusses the cultural side of the dark sky as part of their section on light pollution. According to them the natural night sky has inspired many people in history that were from the fields of science, religion, philosophy, art and literature, and is part of the universal heritage, which is becoming unknown to the future generations (https://www.darksky.org/light-pollution/night-sky-heritage/). According to

Astro Tourism - A Possible Path to Sustainable Development through Narratives and Stories

Master’s Programme in Sustainable Destination Development

Degree project 30 credits June 2021

Astro Tourism - A Possible Path to Sustainable Development

through Narratives and Stories

Darina Gerasimova

Contents

1. Introduction

1.1 Background

1.2 Statement of Purpose

1.3 Research Question

1.4 Methodology

1.5 Theoretical Approach

1.6 Former Research