From mass to class? Aesthetic governance and distinction in the peripheral Arctic

Abstract

Contemporary tourism faces a fundamental paradox: while industry success has long relied on generalised, replicable models, consumers increasingly seek singular, authentic experiences that promise uniqueness and distinction. This tension, framed through Reckwitz’s distinction between generalisation and singularisation, challenges conventional understandings of tourism production in late modernity. Drawing on these theories and on cultural distinction, this paper explores how destinations negotiate these opposing logics through strategic place-making. We illustrate the argument through two Nordic tourism branding campaigns: Kainuu’s Arctic Lakeland strategy exemplifies Arctic appropriation, relying on minimal differentiation and competitive pricing; Norrbotten’s Care for the Arctic campaign reflects a process of monocleisation, using curated aesthetics and ethical consumption narratives targeting more culturally affluent visitors. We define aesthetic governance as the process by which spatial narratives, aesthetic choices, and ethical claims converge to construct place identities that compete for cultural and ethical capital. Both cases show how peripheral regions convert geographic marginality into symbolic capital, while reproducing contradictions between sustainability discourse and the carbon-intensive realities of tourism. This paper argues that particularity in tourism emerges not through simple niche-market distinctions, but through symbolic positioning that links cultural, spatial, and ethical imaginaries.