Tourist perceptions of summer weather in Scandinavia

This article examines summer vacationers’ perceptions of weather conditions in Scandinavia. Against the background of an expanding literature on tourism, weather and climate change, the study aims at understanding the relations between weather expectations, weather perceptions, and adaptive tourist behavior. Evidence from a survey in an archipelago north of the Arctic Circle shows that most tourists considered weather conditions during their stay to be fairly good and that weather aspects have relatively small behavioral impacts. Results demonstrate that when evaluating weather with respect to suitability for tourism, one should take into account traveler motives and intentions in addition to aspects such as comfort or well-being. In this respect, summer weather conditions in Northern Scandinavia are satisfactory or acceptable to many tourists.

Research highlights► Tourists to northerly littoral areas have realistic images of destination weather. ► Characterizations of good and bad weather diverge between various types of visitors. ► Most visitors follow their original plans in spite of various weather conditions. ► Return intentions are not influenced by weather perceptions. ► Weather is not a major barrier to tourism in high latitude regions.