From Peripheral Challenges to Core Solutions: Exploring Sustainable Mobility in Rural Tourism

While transport policy often focuses on urban solutions, rural areas — especially those reliant on tourism — face unique and complex mobility challenges that are frequently overlooked.

This seminar explores findings from doctoral research conducted in four remote Swedish tourism destinations. It explores how deeply embedded car culture, infrastructure gaps, and the lack of policy attention create a "crisis of uncontested poly-challenges." It also introduces how participatory tools like Public Participation GIS (PPGIS) can help engage local communities in identifying practical, place-based solutions — offering a path forward toward more inclusive and low-carbon rural mobility.

Introduction by Ass. Prof. Solène Prince

Short Bio

Dr. Beatrice Waleghwa is a tourism lecturer at Dalarna University with expertise in responsible tourism development, especially in rural and peripheral regions. Her research interests focus on sustainable mobility, community engagement, spatial planning, and the intersection of tourism with environmental and social sustainability.

Beatrice holds degrees from Kenyatta University (Kenya) and Linnaeus University (Sweden), and completed her PhD in Tourism Science at Mid Sweden University. She is actively involved with research centers such as CeTLeR (Center for Tourism and Leisure Research) and ETOUR (European Tourism Research Institute), contributing to interdisciplinary projects like MARA and MIRANDA that address mobility and accessibility challenges in rural areas.

The seminar is organised by the Linnaeus Knowledge Environment: Sustainable Tourism (KEST)