Mountain tourism is the lifeline of local communities

According to a new report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the mountain, sustainable management of mountain tourism can increase local incomes and protect their culture and the region’s natural resources. Collaboration.

According to the latest data from 2019, the study indicates that international mountain tourism will represent 9% to 16% of international tourist arrivals worldwide, i.e. 195 to 375 million tourists. However, the lack of data related to domestic tourism could not estimate the contribution of this important segment.

« With the right data, we can better control the distribution of visitors, support proper planning, develop sustainable products tailored to consumer needs, and create appropriate policies that promote sustainable development and ensure that tourism activities benefit people. QU Dongyu, Director-General of FAO, said Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of UNWTO.

« Measuring the number of visitors to the mountains is an essential first step we need to take “, the two agency heads noted, in the preface of the report, confirming that the available data and indicators are very limited.

Tourism can indeed play an important role in protecting the livelihoods of these fragile ecosystems, which are constantly threatened by climate change and overexploitation. It has even proved to be a lifeline for many communities in the hill regions.

It should be noted that about 1.1 billion people live in the mountains, some of whom are among the poorest and most isolated in the world. At the same time, they attract trekkers, climbers and winter sports enthusiasts and visitors for their spectacular landscapes, rich biodiversity and vibrant local cultures.

For this, effective planning and management of mountain tourism is essential with a better understanding of its scale and its economic, social and environmental impacts. The report also presents innovative approaches to measuring mountain tourism and managing it sustainably.

Therefore, it recommends a collaborative effort involving public and private organizations from the entire value chain to improve the collection in order to have a holistic assessment of mountain tourism.

It calls for joint work to raise awareness of the socio-economic importance of mountain tourism, create jobs, support small and medium enterprises, and target policies to attract green investment in infrastructure and digitization of tourism services.