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Abstract
Many glaciers worldwide have become popular tourist destinations where a broad range of outdoor recreation- or adventure-based activities, such as glacier hiking, ice climbing or snowmobiling, can be conducted. Despite the growing popularity of glaciers as tourist destinations, up to now only very limited research has been undertaken into this form of tourism. The purpose of this paper is to systematically assess the nature and scope of research into glacier tourism in academic literature and to identify gaps in knowledge in this relatively new field of research. A scoping literature review was conducted of English language academic literature including peer-reviewed articles, reports and academic book chapters, in order to synthesize what is currently known about glacier tourism. From the initially identified 166 sources, 53 sources were ultimately included for review. The greater part of the reviewed literature consists of descriptive empirical studies. The review identified three central themes: perceptions and values of glaciers; the effects of glacier tourism on the social and ecological environment in which it takes place; and climate change and variability. The majority of reviewed studies address the last theme (n = 25). Research on glacier tourism is limited but growing. It deals with a broad scope of topics and addresses glacier tourism in a variety of ways. The literature review demonstrates the need for additional research into several issues, including: (1) designing a coherent conceptual framework that incorporates the main elements of glacier tourism; (2) examining the motives, preferences, experiences and behaviours of glacier tourists, as well as of the motivational push and pull factors of glacier tourism; and (3) conducting cross-area or sub-sector comparative analyses of existing or potential climate-induced impacts on glacier tourism or adaptation strategies and measures. The present study provides a basis for further research in a young and growing research field.
摘要
世界范围内的很多冰川已成为广受欢迎的旅游目的地，在那里可以开展一系列户外游憩或者探险活动，像冰川徒步、冰川攀登或者雪地机动车运动。尽管冰川旅游目的地广受欢迎，但是直至现今有关这种旅游形式的研究仍非常有限。本文目的是系统地评估学术文献中冰川旅游研究的范围与特点，识别这个较新研究领域的知识缺口。为系统了解当前冰川旅游研究的现状，对包括同行评审论文、研究报告和学术书籍章节等英文文献进行了概览性综述。最初收集到166份文献，最终把其中的53份纳入文献综述范围。绝大部分文献是描述性的经验研究。本综述识别出3个中心议题༚冰川的认知及价值研究；冰川旅游对当地的社会及生态环境影响；气候变化与异动。绝大部分文献研究的最后一个议题༈文献篇数 = 25）冰川旅游研究数量有限但是在逐渐增加。它涉及议题广泛并且从不同方面关注冰川旅游。文献综述表明，在一些议题方面需要进一步研究，包括；1）设计一个融合冰川旅游主要要素的概念框架；2）考察冰川旅游者的动机、偏好、体验与行为以及冰川旅游动机的推拉因素；3）开展现有及潜在的气候引发的冰川旅游影响及调适措施的跨区域、跨部门比较研究。本研究提供了一个基础，进一步研究这一年轻、增长的研究领域。
Acknowledgement
This study was supported by the Icelandic Tourism Research Centre doctoral grant. We furthermore want to thank Hugh Atkinson for English correction.
Disclosure statement
No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.
Notes on contributors
Johannes T. Welling received his MA degree in political and socio-cultural science from the University of Amsterdam and MSc degree in environment and resource management from the Free University of Amsterdam. He is a PhD student in tourism studies at the University of Iceland.
Þorvarður Árnason received his PhD in environmental studies from Linköping University. He is currently the director of the Hornafjordur Regional Research Centre.
Rannveig Ólafsdóttir received her PhD in physical geography from Lund University. She is currently a professor at the Department of Tourism and Geography at the University of Iceland.