Rural landscapes are the product of consumption for increasing numbers of tourists from urban areas. Many Nordic rural landscapes face a situation called spontaneous reforestation: as mowing and grazing have almost come to an end, scrub and trees thrive. The national tourism industry is concerned, leaning on the assumption that well-managed agricultural landscapes are central to Norway's touristic appeal.This article seeks to investigate how tourists understand and make sense of the landscapes they visit. It presents findings from qualitative interviews with 75 domestic and international tourists, conducted in three different study areas in Norway that are prone to spontaneous reforestation. The tourists were asked to describe the surrounding landscape and to reflect upon the meaning of the landscape and the different landscape elements. Manipulated photos of the past and probable future development were brought into the interview to aid reflection.A main finding is that landscape elements that the tourists perceive as threatened, seem to be preferred over those experienced as plentiful. Another important finding is how the tourists in our study in different ways tend to make sense of the landscapes they visit through their understanding of their known landscapes. Lastly, we find that understandings of landscape change processes are embedded into wider discourses of nature and culture.Key Words: landscape changes, spontaneous reforestation, meaning, rural tourism, Norway . Landscapes Lost? Tourist Understandings of Changing Norwegian Rural Landscapes. Scandinavian Journal of Hospitality and Tourism,, 29-47. doi:10.1080/15022250.2015 IntroductionThe Norwegian fjord landscape topped the charts in National Geographic Travel's annual destination ranking in 2009, strengthening the national tourism industry's belief that fjords, mountains and fields are the country's most unique tourist attractions (http://travel.nationalgeographic.com/travel/). A widespread assumption is that well-managed agricultural landscapes are central to the Norwegian tourism product (Randen & Bartnes, 1967;Stang, 2008). These landscapes are now changing. The concern is that further spontaneous reforestation of these landscapes will lead to less attractive tourist landscapes. As yet, little research has been done to investigate this concern (Fyhri, Jacobsen, & Tømmervik, 2009).This article gives an outline of tourists' understanding of and preferences for different landscape elements. A discourse analytical framework is applied to data from interviews with tourists who visited three tourist landscapes prone to spontaneous reforestation. Two research questions are investigated: 1) How do the tourists understand the Norwegian landscape and the change processes that are going on? 2) What discursive elements can be identified in these understandings? Agricultural Industrialization and Land Use ChangesThe landscapes that tourists consume have not been shaped with the tourism experience in mind; rather, this value is a positive externality o...

Ongoing urban densification in Nordic regions raises sustainability trade-offs related to compactness, land use and urban green space. In Norway, green spaces comprising both natural and agricultural areas are highly valued cultural landscapes protected by the status of ‘green structure’. Yet, neoliberal development forces put pressure on urban green spaces, potentially exacerbating social inequalities and challenging governance structures formally oriented towards sustainability. In the case of Trondheim, Norway, competing priorities under development pressures unfold in the upholding of urban green space strategies and public values between core and periphery areas. Based on interviews, popular media and policy analysis, this contribution uses the multi-actor perspective to compare two current cases of urban development in green areas in terms of shifting public discourses. The first covers development in the urban fringe, where land reserved for agricultural use succumbs to suburban development pressure. The second turns to development in urban green space at the central university campus, used by the public for parkland and recreation, which bowed to public pressure. The examples point to differing values regarding urban green space in core versus periphery areas that materialise in public opposition, triggering debate and institutional review. Compared to state and market sectors, the community sector is shown to be underrepresented in the processes shaping the development proposals, while citizen engagement is a determining factor in shifting public discourse. Results show the need for collaborative governance structures across sectors, using intermediaries, to support a deeper understanding and integration of multiple perspectives in the shaping and negotiation of local sustainability discourses.

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