The number of volunteers in tourism settings is increasing. Volunteers are present at attractions, events and destination services performing various roles. Destinations and regions that offer festivals and events are often dependent on volunteer support. Most volunteers are active in the interface between visitors and paid staff performing key roles in frontline service delivery involving the actual service encounter and sharing of knowledge. Volunteers may also be active in behind-the-scene roles in the development of events and arrangements, strategic issues and administration.

Well-coordinated and innovative offerings are needed in the competitive tourism industry. The quality of human resources involved in tourism is affecting the total visitor experience of the offering. The mix of actors, arrangements and offerings need to be connected.  In this study storytelling is viewed as a strategic experiential approach that effectively ‘wraps’ or ‘bundles’ tourism offerings. A common story concept may connect the arrangements and experiences and furthermore coordinates and involves various stakeholders. The aim of this study is to provide insights into volunteer involvement in tourism settings by studying volunteers’ roles in the storytelling process with references to three Nordic cases in Sweden, Denmark and Norway. The storytelling process is here viewed as three phases: agenda setting, design of the storytelling concept, and implementation. A cross case analysis is applied and volunteers’ roles in the different phases of the storytelling process are identified and discussed.