‘What other event, blueberry picking?’: event tourism management and local actor knowledge assemblages for nature protection

Abstract

This article aims to identify mechanisms that tourism managers use to include local actors’ knowledge. By applying assemblage theory–which describes emergent social wholes composed of heterogeneous, autonomous parts that contribute to a collective identity–knowledge is framed as cohesive wholes that lack a central core and is shared among actors to address specific issues. The empirical data consist of interviews, participant observations and documentation gathered from an event management group organising a large-scale, one-off orientation event in northern Sweden. The findings revealed that, apart from a few local actors, the event management group largely excluded local knowledge, thereby allowing them to downplay the importance of local nature protection in their event organisation. This article contributes four mechanisms: sharpening, separating, creating internal narratives and isolating the involvement of local actors. When maintaining a low degree of shared knowledge with local actors, the event organiser could adhere to pre-existing norms, leading the organiser to prioritise knowledge that can be territorialised in any location. Assemblage theory highlights that local knowledge always remains partial, which event management can exploit to erroneously claim local involvement. Partial local involvement ensures smooth management operations that fit the global market but may not adhere to local needs.