Seasonality on Gotland - a local business perspective

Seasonality in tourism has been present in the literature for decades. It is a universally phenomenon connected to climate and institutional factors which contributes to an imbalance in demand. It can be expressed through numbers of tourists, bed nights and expenditure. Seasonality is most obvious in peripheral destinations and it has generally been described as an issue that needs to be solved. Previous studies have put much attention on macro levels which includes how destinations could mitigate seasonality and create all-year around tourism. This study examines seasonality at a micro level by using Gotland as a case. The aim of the study was to explore perspective of Gotlandic nature-based tourism companies on seasonality, all in order to increase the understanding on seasonality aspects in tourism. The data collection was performed through semi-structured interviews with nature-based companies on Gotland. The results of the study indicate that lifestyle motives are strong for running a nature-based company on Gotland and the short, intense summer-season make it possible. Seasonality is therefore not considered as an issue that needs to be urgently solved. Other themes related to sustainable destination development such as carrying capacity, employment, possibilities of growth and regional strategies are also being deeply discussed in this study