Our guests today come from Finland, Iceland and mainland Scotland, to tell us about a new idea to generate visitor numbers. It’s called scientific tourism, and it brings together the feeling of exploration and discovery of a field trip with practical experiences and learning opportunities. Plans to develop it are being taken forward by the SCITOUR project, funded by the EU’s Northern Periphery and Arctic Programme. Project leader Ari Laakso from the University of Lapland’s Arctic Centre joins us, along with Hans Welling of the University of Iceland and Dr Steve Taylor of West Highland College UHI.

Eric Walker will round off with some advice on how to observe and photograph the Northern Lights.

Our lunch today is in Norwegian smørbrød style – thick crusty bread spread with Orkney butter, topped with hickory smoked ham and smoked tomato chutney, finished with a slice of smoked cheddar cheese. If you’d like more options, take a look at our leaflet of Peedie Kirk lunch recipes, and our booklet about foraging food.

You can watch this free event from here, through the YouTube link below, or if you’d like to join questions and discussion, you can also go to the Science Festival’s YouTube channel

For a background to the concept of scientific tourism, here is a video prepared by the SCITOUR project leader Ari Laakso in his home town of Rovaniemi, right on the Arctic Circle.