Young-Sook Lee

Professor Young-Sook Lee is a distinguished academic specializing in Tourism Management at The School of Business, UiT The Arctic University of Norway in Tromsø. Originally Korean Australian, she relocated to Norway in 2014 after spending over 15 years as a tourism academic at Griffith University in Australia. She holds a PhD in Sociology (applied in tourism) from the University of Queensland.

Her research focuses on East Asian cultural philosophies in nature and tourism, tourist behavior, Arctic tourism, and sustainability in tourism. Professor Lee has made significant contributions to the field, including leading the editing of the first Arctic tourism book 'Arctic Tourism Experiences: Production, Consumption and Sustainability' in 2017. Her work demonstrates a consistent focus on the intersection of Eastern philosophical traditions and contemporary tourism practices, particularly examining how concepts from Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shintoism influence tourist experiences and behaviors.

Professor Lee's publication record shows a clear evolution from early work on Asian tourist behavior to increasingly focused research on Arctic tourism experiences, with particular attention to how East Asian cultural frameworks shape interactions with Arctic environments. Her recent work demonstrates sophisticated theoretical approaches to understanding cross-cultural co-creation in tourism contexts.

• Expert adviser at the Nordic Expert Group for the Prime Minister's office in Finland
• Expert Panel member for the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO)
• Member for the Idea Lab for the Future of Tourism by the Research Council of Norway

Professor Lee is actively engaged in several research groups including Sustainable Marketing (SUM), Changing Arctic, and Arctic Innovative Experience Management (ArIEM). She also participates in the project 'Interconnections between Mobilities and Security in a Changing Arctic,' demonstrating her commitment to addressing contemporary challenges in Arctic tourism development.