Sustainable Development of Mountain Tourism

Dear Colleagues,

Home to around 15% of the global population, and covering 27% of the Earth’s surface (FAO, 2024), mountain regions play a fundamental role in terms of biodiversity and local heritage. This richness in nature and culture has led to mountainous areas being ranked as the second most popular tourism destinations in the world, after coastal and island resorts (Duglio and Beltramo, 2018), and accounting for between 9% and 16% of total international arrivals (FAO, 2023).

Mountain tourism, however, is a complex phenomenon. Due to its intrinsic ability to satisfy a vast range of tourism needs, from leisure to health and wellness and from nature to outdoor sports (Richins et al., 2016), mountain tourism represents an important source of revenue for many local communities. On the other hand, tourism can also cause natural and cultural degradation in mountain regions through its impacts on ecosystems, biodiversity, and local populations. Overtourism, urbanization, the exploitation of natural resources, pollution, and the loss of local culture are matters of ongoing discussion and debate among scholars, politicians, and practitioners, with the key question of how to balance the positive economic impacts of tourism with social and environmental issues attracting increasing public attention and opinion. The concept of sustainable mountain tourism underwent a phase of intense development during the 2000s, corresponding to an overall analysis of what was being observed at the time, leading to the earliest understanding of the concept of sustainability in mountain tourism, accompanied by an awareness of its impact on natural environments and local populations. Since then, other ideas, such as transition, have emerged regarding the future of mountain tourism, but in some respects, this may seem too radical, suggesting a break in the model, which leaves the field open to new work illustrating or detailing the gradual integration of sustainability components into mountain tourism practices.

Based on these considerations, for this Special Issue, we invite contributions that offer theoretical or operational approaches to developing sustainable mountain tourism. Contributions sharing practical applications and specific case studies are also welcome. To this end, we offer potential contributors a non-exhaustive list of topics that could be explored in their proposals:

• Ecotourism Practices in Mountain Regions: Exploring how ecotourism can benefit local communities or play a role in biodiversity conservation.
• Impact of Climate Change on Mountain Destinations: Assessing the effects of climate change on snow and outdoor sports, as well as summer tourism, and the sustainability of chosen methods of adaptation.
• Sustainable Adventure Tourism: Evaluating the environmental impact of activities such as trekking, climbing, and mountain biking on local communities or ecosystems.
• Gender and Sustainable Tourism Development: Exploring the role of women in mountain tourism and community development.
• Policy Frameworks for Sustainable Mountain Tourism: Analyzing government policies that support sustainable practices in the tourism sector.
• Community-Based Mountain Tourism Initiatives: How local communities can actively participate in, and benefit from, sustainable tourism.
• Mountain Tourism and Agriculture: How these two sectors, the main economic pillars in many mountain communities, can benefit one another.
• Mountain Tourism and Natural Parks: Analyzing how mountain tourism can be managed in natural and protected parks and areas.

We invite submissions from authors across a wide range of social science fields (such as geography, economy, sociology, or political science). Papers selected for this Special Issue will be subjected to a peer review procedure. We aim to rapidly and widely disseminate cutting-edge research results, developments, and applications.

References:

1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Why mountains matter. 2024, Avialble at: https://www.fao.org/mountain-partnership/publications/publication-detail/en/c/1707875/, last access: 13 September 2024
2. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and World Tourism Organization (UNWTO). Understanding and quantifying mountain tourism; FAO and WTO: Rome-Madrid, Italy-Spain, 2023.
3. Duglio, S.; Beltramo, R. Mountain tourism in Europe. Eur. J. Tour. Res. 2019, 22, 129
4. Richins, H.; Johnsen, S.; Hull, J.S. 1 Overview of Mountain Tourism: Substantive Nature, Historical Context, Areas of Focus. In Mountain Tourism: Experiences, Communities, Environments and Sustainable Futures; CABI: Wallingford, UK, 2016; pp. 1–12.
5. Philippe Bourdeau. Territoires de montagne et tourisme durable: une approche critique. O. Bessy & J.-P. Augustin. Loisirs sportifs, territoires et développement durable, Presses Universitaires du Sport, 6 p., 2008.
6. Laurent Arcuset, Philippe Bachimon, Christel Barde, Gisèle Dalama, Pierre Dérioz. Développement touristique durable en montagne: comment mobiliser les acteurs locaux?. Sylvie Clarimont & Vincent Vlès - Laboratoire SET - UMR 5603 CNRS. Tourisme durable en montagne. Entre discours et pratiques, AFNOR, pp.99-115, 2008.
7. François, H (2008). Durabilité des ressources territoriales et tourisme durable: vers quelle convergence ? Géographie, économie, société, 2008/1 Vol. 10. pp. 133-152. https://doi.org/10.3166/ges.10.133-152.

Dr. Stefano Duglio
Dr. Marc Langenbach
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Sustainability is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• mountain tourism destination management
• winter tourism, ski tourism, and mountain resorts
• environmental and social implications of mountain tourism
• ecolabelling in mountain tourism
• overtourism
• sports tourism
• hospitality sector in mountain regions
• mountain accommodation facilities and mountain huts
• climate change
• agro-tourism
• local heritage and culture