Politics, industry, and tourism: The conceptual construction of the blue highway

Abstract

This article contributes to the research on the expansion of the Swedish post-war road network by illuminating the role of tourism in addition to political and industrial agendas. Specifically, it examines the “conceptual construction” of the Blue Highway, which currently stretches from the Atlantic Coast of Norway, traverses through Sweden and Finland, and enters into Russia. The focus is on Swedish governmental reports and national press between the 1950s and the 1970s. The article identifies three overlapping meanings attached to the Blue Highway: a political agenda of improving the relationships between the Nordic countries, industrial interests, and tourism. Political ambitions of Nordic community building were clearly pronounced at the onset of the project. Industrial actors depended on the road for the building of power plants and dams. The road became gradually more connected with the view of tourism as the motor of regional development.

Study on the Influence of High-speed Railway Opening on the Economic Development of Jilin Province—Taking the Changchun-Hunchun Intercity Railway as an Example

“…Better transportation conditions attract population mobility and aggregation and accelerate the urbanization process. The flow of population has brought about the growth of consumer demand, promoted the development of the business and service industry, and injected vitality into the economy of Jilin Province (Bertilsson Fredrik & Norton Peter, 2021).…”