Art Tourism in Regional Destinations. Museal Roles in Cultural Tourism Development - An Exploration of SMK Thy
Translated title
Kunstturisme i regionale destinationer. Museale roller i udviklingen af kulturturisme - en undersøgelse af SMK Thy
Author
Andersen, Frida Sloth
Term
4. term
Education
Publication year
2026
Submitted on
2026-06-01
Abstract
This thesis explores how art museums can contribute to cultural tourism in small, regional destinations, using the newly established branch of the National Gallery of Denmark, SMK Thy, as a case study. Drawing on a social constructivist paradigm and a qualitative research design based on semi-structured interviews with seven key stakeholders connected both to SMK Thy and to broader tourism and cultural policy contexts, the study examines the roles of art museums as embedded cultural actors within regional tourism systems and the conditions under which they may create value. The analysis is structured around three key concepts – potentials, prerequisites, and barriers – which together illuminate how museums can attract visitors, generate local social and economic value, and support and diversify tourism structures. The findings show that museums’ potential is highly context-dependent and closely tied to their degree of local embeddedness, particularly the destination’s capacity to support the museum politically, touristically, and locally through existing tourism foundations, political backing, local engagement, and collaborative tourism governance. At the same time, the study identifies internal barriers such as institutional tensions and limited development competencies, as well as external barriers including regional tourism constraints and uneven political and financial support structures, all of which restrict museums’ ability to act as drivers of regional cultural tourism. The thesis therefore argues that the main constraint is not a lack of willingness within museums but rather a lack of long-term, coordinated political prioritization and investment. Theoretically, the study contributes by conceptualizing museums as embedded, conditional actors within destination and tourism systems whose impact is structurally enabled and limited, and it concludes that SMK Thy should not be treated as a universally replicable model but as an example of what art museums can achieve when operating within a supportive system, highlighting the need for stronger coordination, political prioritization, and cross-sector collaboration.
Dette speciale undersøger, hvordan kunstmuseer kan bidrage til kulturel turisme i mindre, regionale destinationer med udgangspunkt i den nyetablerede afdeling af Statens Museum for Kunst, SMK Thy, som casestudie. Med et socialkonstruktivistisk udgangspunkt og en kvalitativ metode baseret på semistrukturerede interviews med syv centrale aktører analyseres kunstmuseers roller som indlejrede kulturelle aktører i regionale turismesystemer, og under hvilke betingelser de kan skabe værdi. Analysen struktureres omkring tre nøglebegreber – potentialer, forudsætninger og barrierer – der tilsammen belyser, hvordan museer kan tiltrække turister, skabe lokal social og økonomisk værdi samt understøtte og diversificere turismestrukturer. Specialet viser, at museers potentiale er betinget af kontekst og graden af lokal forankring, herunder destinationens kapacitet til at støtte museet politisk, turistisk og lokalt gennem eksisterende turismeinfrastruktur, politisk opbakning, lokalt engagement og samarbejdende turismestyring. Samtidig identificeres interne barrierer i form af institutionelle spændinger og begrænset kompetenceudvikling samt eksterne barrierer som regionale turismeudfordringer og ujævne politiske og økonomiske støtteordninger, der tilsammen begrænser museernes rolle i regional kulturel turismeudvikling. Specialet argumenterer derfor for, at den primære begrænsning ikke er museernes manglende vilje, men fraværet af langsigtet, koordineret politisk prioritering og investering. Teoretisk bidrager studiet med forståelsen af museer som indlejrede og betingede aktører i destinations- og turismesystemer, hvis impact er strukturelt muliggjort og begrænset, og konkluderer, at SMK Thy ikke bør ses som en generel model, men som et eksempel på, hvad kunstmuseer kan bidrage med, når de er placeret i et understøttende system, hvilket peger på behovet for øget koordinering, politisk prioritering og tværsektorielt samarbejde.
[This abstract has been generated with the help of AI directly from the project full text]