2023-04-26 11:50:36
This content was published on April 26, 2023 – 11:43
Rome, April 26 (EFE).- Mountain tourism, if managed sustainably, has the potential to increase the income of local communities and help preserve their natural resources and culture, although the lack of data prevents taking advantage of those opportunities, the United Nations (UN) warned today.
This is revealed by the report “Understanding and quantifying mountain tourism”, published this Wednesday by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Mountain Alliance (AM ), which tries to address these gaps.
The document identifies trends and offers a series of recommendations to advance in the measurement of mountain tourism, including advances in official tourism statistics and the use of big data and new technologies, the FAO explained in a statement.
Some 1.1 billion people live in the mountains, some of whom are among the poorest and most isolated in the world, but at the same time it is an ecosystem that attracts visitors for its spectacular landscapes, its rich biodiversity and its vibrant local cultures.
However, in 2019, the most recent year for which figures are available, the 10 most mountainous countries (in terms of average height above sea level) received just 8% of international tourist arrivals from around the world, notes the report.
“Measuring the volume of visitors to the mountains is the first vital step we must take,” FAO Director-General QU Dongyu and UNWTO Secretary-General Zurab Pololikashvili point out in the foreword.
“With the right data, we can better control the dispersion of visitor flows, support proper planning, improve knowledge regarding visitor patterns, create sustainable products in line with consumer needs, and appropriate policies that encourage development. sustainable and ensure that tourism activities benefit local communities,” they add.
The FAO highlights that tourism has proven to be “a lifeline” for many communities in mountainous regions “and can play a leading role in protecting livelihoods adapted to these fragile ecosystems, which face continuous threats from change climate change and overexploitation.
In order to effectively plan and manage mountain tourism, it is necessary to better understand its magnitude and its economic, social and environmental repercussions, taking into account that “to date, the available data is very limited”.
“As the sector recovers from the unprecedented impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, there is an opportunity to rethink mountain tourism and its impact on natural resources and livelihoods, but also to better manage and harness their contribution towards a more resilient, inclusive and sustainable future”, concludes the FAO. EFE
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