resources Article Strategic Development Challenges in Marine Tourism in Nunavut Margaret E. Johnston 1,*, Jackie Dawson 2 and Patrick T. Maher 3 1 School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism, Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, ON P7B 5E1, Canada 2 Department of Geography, Environment, and Geomatics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada;
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[email protected]; Tel.: +1-807-343-8377 Received: 30 May 2017; Accepted: 26 June 2017; Published: 30 June 2017 Abstract: Marine tourism in Arctic Canada has grown substantially since 2005. Though there are social, economic and cultural opportunities associated with industry growth, climate change and a range of environmental risks and other problems present significant management challenges. This paper describes the growth in cruise tourism and pleasure craft travel in Canada’s Nunavut Territory and then outlines issues and concerns related to existing management of both cruise and pleasure craft tourism. Strengths and areas for improvement are identified and recommendations for enhancing the cruise and pleasure craft governance regimes through strategic management are provided. Key strategic approaches discussed are: (1) streamlining the regulatory framework; (2) improving marine tourism data collection and analysis for decision-making; and (3) developing site guidelines and behaviour guidelines. Keywords: marine tourism; cruise ships; pleasure craft; Nunavut Territory; management; impacts; Arctic Canada 1. Introduction Marine tourism in the Arctic has been growing as tourism demand increases and accessibility is improved [1–3]. Much of this activity involves smaller expedition cruise ships and the larger vessels common in more accessible cruise destinations.