Tourism in Four Northern Countries:

Historically hunting and utilisation of game has been a significant source of livelihood in Northern areas. Traditionally the hunting has been a privilege of all social and economical classes and there has been wide access to the game resources for all, unlike e.g. in many Central European countries. Nowadays the hunting is seen more as a hobby than a source of livelihood or as business opportunity, but it still has a significant role in the culture. At the moment approx 6-8- % of the population in Nor-dic countries hunt. However, it is estimated that in many countries the amount of rural hunters will decrease in near future due to the age structure in rural regions. This can cause growing ecological potential for hunting, and possibly for hunting tourism, which has been recognised as one relevant solution to continue the management of the game populations as well as one potential source of livelihood in the area. Hunting tourism is still generally a little known business sector and is therefore also an insufficiently utilized resource for rural and regional development. Especially in the Northern areas, which are rich with different kind of game populations due to large wilderness areas and variety of natural habitats, hunting tourism could provide a realistic source of livelihood basing on the special strengths of the remote rural areas. In general the income originating from nature tourism remains typically well in ru