Pluriversal Ethics of Visitation:Exploring Connections in Arctic Research and Tourism Guidelines

Indigenous communities in the Arctic experience growing external pressures such as climate change and conflicting land uses, as easier transport and information flows make the region more accessible to outsiders. Outsider visitations produce social, economic, and environmental impacts that may misalign with Indigenous priorities. Ethical codes for tourism and research exist in parts of the Arctic, but their institutionalisation and enforcement remain uneven. In this paper, we explore ethical guidelines in Arctic research and tourism through the lens of pluriversality. Through document analysis of ethical guidelines, an early-career researcher workshop in the UK, and fieldwork reflections from Greenland, we explore the understandings and approaches to ethics from angles across disciplines, sectors, geographies, and career stages. We show mismatches among well-intentioned visitors, guidelines, and regulations, indicating institutional gaps that remain to be addressed when guidelines ‘travel’ from abstract writing to practice in the field. We highlight that ethical visitations require constant and ideally Indigenous-led dialogues and decolonial efforts among all involved stakeholders to ensure visitations meet Indigenous priorities. By promoting pluriversal ethics in research and tourism, this paper supports sharing best practices grounded in Indigenous self-determination to strengthen local economies, cultural heritage preservation, and community well-being. <br/>