A Potential Hotel and Restaurant Establishment in Robertsfors Municipality : A way towards increased competitiveness and local sustainable development?

The aim of this study is to assess the perceived opportunities and challenges of a potential hotel and restaurant establishment on local economic, social, cultural, and tourism development in Robertsfors municipality. By situating this case within the broader global competition for investments, businesses, population growth, and tourism, the study also contributes to the understanding of how small municipalities can utilize hospitality investments as a strategy for sustainable local development. To examine this, a qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews has been employed. Consequently, key stakeholders such as businesses, industries, food producers, tourism operators, sports clubs, cultural organizations, and events were interviewed. The result shows that a potential hotel and restaurant establishment in Robertsfors could bring both opportunities and challenges for the local community as well as for the establishment itself. Importantly, both opportunities and challenges were identified across all thematic areas of the study - economic, social and cultural, as well as tourism development - corresponding to the three research questions. Opportunities include, for example, enhanced accommodation capacity during events, support for local food producers through the use of locally produced ingredients, and the creation of a new social meeting place that could strengthen community life. Challenges include limited year-round demand, lack of funding and entrepreneurship, local skepticism towards change, and uncertainties regarding target groups.