Abstract
In the development of rural areas, infrastructure has often been presented as the solution to attract industries, develop tourism and increase settlement (Ward & Brown, 2009). With the project of building the Femern tunnel to connect Rødbyhavn on Lolland in Denmark with Germany, stakes are high for Lolland to use this opportunity to increase tourism and settlement. This study seeks to examine the possibilities, the risks and the implications of Femern in the development of Lolland as a tourism and settlement destination.
In recent history, Lolland has faced a negative settlement development (Lolland Kommune, n.d.), which culminated in the documentary “På Røven i Nakskov” portraying social and economically vulnerable families in Nakskov. As a result of the documentary, Lolland has been associated with a negative narrative, which this study aims to explore the consequences of and identifying other narratives telling a different story of Lolland as destination.
To attain a comprehensive, sensitive and deeper understanding of Lolland as settlement and tourism destination, this study makes use of a qualitative research-design based on six semi-structured online interviews and an excessive fieldwork conducted on Lolland. The research makes use of multi-sensory ethnography (Pink, 2009), as the researchers engage as temporary settlers on Lolland and Fejø, supplemented with data from reflexive practices such as fieldnotes and a journal. The data is coded into three narratives and are thereby a result of the development of Lolland in order to combat the negative narrative of Lolland.
With the help of a theoretical framework based on theories, such as placemaking by Cheng et al. (2021), sustainable development, resilience and narratives, this study analyzes the consequences and possibilities of the infrastructural development on Lolland. Moreover, it uncovers the different approaches to attract tourists and settlers to Lolland between the policy, private and local level and describes how these work with and against each other. Finally, it concludes that Lolland needs to remain sensitive to intangible values in its placemaking process, such as place-identity and sense of place, if Lolland wishes to change the negative narrative once and for all.
This study presents a much needed empirical insight on the important elements that make up a place and in the development of tourism and settlement. Future work is recommended to investigate what impacts and influence infrastructural development projects have on rural destinations, and to further question whether faster infrastructure leads to more tourism and settlement in Denmark.