ABSTRACT
This chapter discusses lifestyle tourism entrepreneurs as an example of businesses whose adherence to degrowth principles is visible statistically. By looking at the case of small-scale nature-based tourism entrepreneurs we demonstrate the importance of life quality values in this business, such as working outdoors, being self-reliant, working with people with similar interests, contributing to sustainable development, utilizing local resources or educating people about nature – all of which are prioritized over growth and income maximization. We argue that lifestyle entrepreneurship can be re-read from a degrowth perspective, offering opportunities for critical re-evaluation of the concept of work and its meaning. The empirical data comes from a synthesis of nation-wide surveys among NBT entrepreneurs in Sweden and Norway conducted in 2013 and 2018, as well as some qualitative insights from interviews with nature-based entrepreneurs conducted in 2018.
