Making tourism more regenerative in Tromsø

The Tromsø Tits project exemplifies a successful collaboration between Rissa Citizen Science, a researcher, and a tour operator, bridging nature conservation and scientific research to develop an alternative tourism model that benefits both ecosystems and the host destination.

A visitor is marking a nestbox for the Tromsø Tits research project.

From extractive to regenerative

Tromsø is one of the top-world destinations to watch Northern Lights from September to April. Visitors are also offered a variety of other commercial products to choose from: whale watching, skiing, sight seeing or fishing, to name just a few. All these activities have one thing in common: they turn nature, a resource that is freely available to everyone, into paid experiences for visitors from across the globe. Nature-based tourism is inherently extractive, and when profit maximization becomes the primary goal, it results in negative consequences for both nature and local communities.

While sustainability is often understood as minimizing or neutralizing impacts, regeneration goes a step further by aiming to reverse negative trends and create positive effects. Rissa Citizen Science works to build a strong local community of nature advocates while seeking new approaches to make tourism in Tromsø more regenerative. We are exploring this concept with projects like the Tromsø Tits project,  the Kittiwake conservation project or the Helping Hand project in Ånderdalen National Park.

Regenerative tourism with the Helping Hand project in Ånderdalen National Park in 2025.

The Tromsø tits project

Tromsø and its surroundings are among the most brightly lit areas in Europe, a striking paradox for a place often described as the world capital of Northern Lights watching, where light pollution, second only to clouds, is the main enemy. '

Our research partner Dr Barbara Tomotani, based at the Arctic University of Norway-UiT (also known as the University in Tromsø), is a chronobiologist. She and her team study the impact of light pollution (or more exactly Artificial Light At Night or ALAN) on songbirds in the Arctic. To answer the questions that Dr Tomotani and her team have, over 200 nestboxes were buit and deployed in the forest on top of Tromsø island. These boxes give the scientists access to birds, tits (great and blue) in particular, to study their activity around the clock, their reproduction success, phenology, fitness and survival.

The great tit and pied flycatcher are some of the species using Dr Tomotani's nesboxes.

A hike with a purpose on Tromsøya

Since 2025, Rissa Citizen Science has partnered with Viking Cruises to give their visitors the opportunity to contribute to Dr. Tomotani’s research. Participants spend a few hours hiking with a purpose, installing and monitoring nest boxes and refilling bird feeders. All the while, they learn about light pollution in Tromsø, why many buildings are lit up 24/7 both outside and inside, or why Norway is so far behind when it comes to saving energy and turning off artificial lights.

Nestbox 51 of the Tromsø Tits research project.

From citizen science to change

For Rissa Citizen Science, the Tromsø Tits research project represents a valuable opportunity to address light pollution in Tromsø through means other than lectures or articles. Our involvement in the project helps bring the issue to the attention of local authorities and, we hope, will contribute to reducing light pollution in the near future. Visitors appreciate being part of this process. After all, we all enjoy feeling that we are contributing to something meaningful.

A visitor just put up a new nestbox for the Tromsø Tits research project.

Tourism behind nature conservation

What is left of the forest on Tromsøya is constantly threatened by promoters. Solneset and Radio Skogen are just two recent examples. Rissa Citizen Science's participation to the Tromsø Tits project gives us the opportunity to show visitors (as well as residents) the beauty of these threathened forests, and what will be converted into asphalt and lawns without organized opposition. These patches of forests are used by residents year-round and contribute significantly to both physical and mental well-being. They need to be protected.

The forest near Solneset is used by many people all year round and brings invaluable health benefits.

By including these threatened forests in the study area of a local research project, we show that these remnants of nature can have value beyond financial returns.

Yes, many residents struggle to find places to live. Promoters respond by calling for more housing, while others argue that adequate housing already exists but is diverted to short-term tourist rentals such as Airbnb.

Visitors are sometimes blamed for the conversion of available housing into expensive Airbnb rentals, but it is important to remember that it is property owners who choose to rent out their homes on Airbnb in pursuit of higher profits, often at the expense of the common good.

Beyond making life more difficult for residents, this dynamic also increases pressure on nature when developers argue that more housing must be built. How many of these new apartments will end up on Airbnb?

Hiking with a purpose in these threatened forests creates space to raise these questions and invites visitors to reflect on their responsibilities, their choices, and how they engage with nature... while it is still here.

Visitors participating in the Tromsø Tits research project.