For many rural mountain communities, tourism is a lifeline, contributing in particular to SDGs 1, 2 and 8.

However, mountain tourism can also negatively affect fragile mountain ecosystems, endanger biodiversity, fail to ensure local people benefit from revenues, and even threaten the identity of mountain communities themselves.

In anticipation of the return of large numbers of visitors to mountains after the COVID-19 pandemic, consideration must be given to reducing environmental impacts, including by addressing tourist-generated plastic waste, and ensuring sustainable tourism, such as by developing a year-round tourism destination in mountains as climate crisis shortens snow seasons.
By Qu Dongyu, Director-General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, and Zurab Pololikashvili, Secretary-General of the UN World Tourism Organization

The world’s mountains have long attracted visitors for their scenic beauty, sports opportunities and rich cultural heritage. And for many rural mountain communities, tourism is a lifeline. However, mountain tourism can also come at a cost.

Tourism can increase household incomes, enhance job opportunities and revitalize local traditions. By doing so, it contributes to many of the Sustainable Development Goals, including those on poverty (SDG 1), hunger (SDG 2) and decent work (SDG 8). This is especially important when we consider that one in every two rural mountain people in developing countries are at risk of hunger.

But when poorly managed, tourism can negatively affect fragile mountain ecosystems, endanger biodiversity, fail to ensure local people benefit from revenues, and even threaten the identity of mountain communities themselves.
COVID-19 has hit the tourism industry like a seismic shock. Before the pandemic, mountain tourism accounted for up to a fifth of tourism worldwide. In 2020, international tourist numbers declined by 74% globally, and mountain destinations that relied on international visitors have suffered serious economic losses. But the joint study ‘Mountain tourism – Towards a more sustainable path’ by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO), the UN World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) and the Mountain Partnership Secretariat suggests that the pandemic has also presented us with an opportunity to rethink mountain tourism.

Helping mountain regions to recover from the COVID-19 crisis requires actions in the short and longer term that extend beyond the tourism sector. It is our urgent responsibility to rebuild the industry more sustainably and equitably, in ways that provide long-term benefits for mountain peoples and their environments.

Many governments have responded quickly to support tourism recovery.