Exoticisation

The touristic image of the Sámi created by outsiders is based on the otherness, that is, the exotic difference of the Sámi, complete with their remote habitats and colourful outfits. Exoticisation is a practice in which people, objects and places are presented as foreign, fascinating and romanticised. The object of exoticisation represents the other, something different from ‘us’ and, therefore, a deviation from the ‘normal’. Seeking exoticism and foreignness, that is, otherness has been a motive for tourism for centuries. Even though there may be a lávvu, that is a traditional tent, on yards or elsewhere outdoors, local people live in houses. Inside of Sámi dress, there is a human being, not a tourist attraction or exotic object or prop.