The tourism sector of Norway is one of the sectors that aim for sustainability and is the subject of an ambitious project. With an estimated 5% of the total global CO2 emissions coming from tourism, this is a good sector to examine for improvements in sustainability. The tourism sector in combination with the government started the project Sustainable Destination Norway 2025. The project carried out by the Norwegian research group Vestlandsforsking, they involved Paul Peeters, associate Professor Sustainable Transport&Tourism of CSTT, for his expertise in sustainable tourism. The Norwegian government wants their tourism sector to be sustainable based on the following goals: 30% reduction of CO2 emissions in 2025 compared to 2005 1 million extra inbound tourists in 2025 compared to 2005 A higher contribution of tourism to the Gross Domestic Product The question that was addressed in this research is: In what way insight can be gained in the complex system of sustainable tourism in Norway, and how to communicate these insights to stakeholders in the tourism sector? In a joined facilitating role with Paul Peeters a mediated modelling session was conducted to obtain the input of the Norwegian research group Vestlandsforsking. During this session we created a few rough sketches of the subsystems in the tourism sector. The rough sketches produced in Norway have been used as a starting point and inspiration for the causal analysis. In this causal analysis more insight was created in the influential factors of the tourism system, and the way they affect each other. The main dilemma in the tourism system is the large contrast in the goals of sustainable destination Norway, getting in more inbound tourist almost directly increases the amount of CO2 emissions. Strong measures against CO2 emissions for instance in the form of taxes on air travels, almost immediately has a negative effect on the inbound tourists which also influences the tourism revenues. However, more tax on air travel could also lead to more domestic tourists so the effect on the revenues is more complicated to predict. To get more insight in these relations a computer simulation was made based on the causal analysis. There was a need for a way to quantitatively go in depth into the relations of the different factors of sustainability in the Norwegian tourism sector. In order to make good policy for the future, more insights need to be created in the behaviour of the system and ways to influence this. Building a System Dynamics model can provide these insights and help the tourism sector create policy to increase the sustainability of the sector. The model has been divided into six subparts: Tourism streams (inbound, outbound and domestic), Global / Norwegian economy, Transport modes (air, public transport and car), Local trips, CO2 emissions, Revenues. Statistical data for the model was produced by experts from Vestlandsforsking, gaps were filled by the expertise of Paul Peeters. The model was built based on System Dynamics and created in Powersim 8, modelling software that is based on System Dynamics flow diagrams. The program numerically solves the differential equations that are produced by the system of stock and flow equations. To build trust in the model several tests have been performed to test model structure and model behaviour, a sensitivity analysis, extreme value testing and historic data validation. The model showed weaknesses at extreme values, which is important to keep in mind when using the model. In the sensitivity analysis the model outcomes were not troublesome, all variables showed normal sensitivity some a little more than others but all within boundaries. Most questionable in the verification phase are the derivative constructions that were used to prevent illegal loops in the model, however they should not affect the outcome of the model. In the model use it became apparent that the tourism sector of Norway has a serious problem getting their CO2 emissions down with 30 percent by 2025. The baserun shows a large increase in CO2 emissions, and during the testing of the policy options it became clear that this situation is not easy to improve. Norway has to work together in all policy fields, combining their forces to tackle the increase of CO2 emissions and turn it into a reduction. To be able to let tourism experts use this model a graphical user interface was created which hides the complexity that is in the simulation model and gives them the opportunity to test the policy measures they desire and see the important outcomes. To be able to communicate the important lessons of the system dynamic model, a simulation game has been created based on the model. This way people who have never experienced computer modelling will still be able to use it. A second goal of the model is to facilitate discussion amongst stakeholders from the government and tourism sector. The game has been tested in a political arena in Norway, where the way the game facilitates discussion has been examined. The simulation game was received very positively by the users and the project team of Vestlandsforsking. In itself the game performed really well, both goals of the game have been accomplished. The game turned out to be a great facilitator for discussion in the first session and experts in the tourism field felt like they had learned many lessons from the game. Since it is hard to quantify the results of this first simulation gaming session in Norway, an experimental session at a tourism university in Germany was held with questionnaires for scientific measurement. The goal of the session was to show the added value of simulation gaming to the amount of learning. In three different workshops the students were introduced to the challenges of sustainable tourism in Norway: a classic brainstorming session, a System Dynamics modelling session and a simulation gaming session. To be able to identify which of the three workshops taught the participants the most, these questionnaires, testing knowledge before and after the workshops, have been analysed with SPSS. Even though the results of the experiments were not statistically significant, they did point towards an added value for simulation gaming in communicating the important aspects of a complex system. So the answer to the main research question “What is the best way to gain insight in the complex system of sustainable tourism in Norway, and how to communicate these insights to stakeholders in the tourism sector?” could indeed be the combination of System Dynamics modelling and simulation gaming. The recommendations that follow from this research are: Improvements of current research: Get the list of missing data from Vestlandsforsking to be able to perform the historical data validation more accurately. Performing the experiments with larger groups and an actual control group instead of three groups that test different sets of policy tools. To really improve the understanding of complex systems for stakeholders it would be interesting to add the group model building part to the simulation gaming. In this project the extreme values as well as the sensitivity of the model have been analysed. At 110% the model performed well, but with 200% the model gave problems with producing outcomes. It would be very useful to know where the problem of the model starts, somewhere between the 110% and the 200%. Possible development directions for the model: Try to develop a more general version of the model to be able to play the game in several countries, the results from the conference in Balestrand were extremely positive. A more regional version could also be used in Norway to get the discussion going in all regions of Norway. Broaden the sustainability of the model, CO2 emissions as only performance indicator is soon not enough for the sustainability debate. Possible development directions for the game: Give the departments a budget for their policy choices and assign prices to the policy options. Different competing goals for the different departments, in the described sessions all departments worked towards reaching the emission goal. The presentation of the game could be improved with for instance a board game like addition. A single player version of the game could be developed with for instance different levels of complexity and the possibility to have different objectives of play. Further research: Investigate the acceptance of the model in real situations, will stakeholders still be enthusiastic when the outcomes are negative for them? What are the differences in learning between a single player mode of the simulation game and the multiplayer mode of the simulation game?