National parks in peripheral areas are often promoted as tool for regional development and a way of restructuring resource-based economies into tourism. Though not always embraced by local communities, tourism businesses are generally expected to be in favor of new park establishments. However, the coalition between environmentalists and tourism entrepreneurs has recently been challenged. The purpose of this paper is to analyze discourses regarding the establishment of national parks in Arctic areas. This is done regarding the proposed National Park Vindelfjällen in northern Sweden. Using discourse analysis of media debate, public documents and interviews it is demonstrated that struggle over national parks is not only about tourism development, but wider concern regarding the management of Arctic environments. In this context it is not possible to simply classify stakeholders in local, national and international. Interests differ in both arenas and mirror rather a general struggle over control of northern areas. Hence tourism development is used just as an arena for negotiating issues of governance and power.