International Relation Researcher of ENSM, Serge Koenig: we need to rethink the tourism model, in a fairer and more virtuous way under the new situation

EDITOR'S NOTE

It has been five years since the International Mountain Tourism Alliance (IMTA) founded on August 15, 2017. In the past five years, IMTA has continuously improved the construction of the platform, played its role in promoting the implementation of the results, and achieved exciting development results. The development of IMTA has continuously stepped into a new level, and the internationalization, marketization and specialization of IMTA has been widely recognized by the domestic and foreign industry.

On September 27th 2022, the second session of the General Assembly and Council of IMTA were held, IMTA invited representatives of international organizations, representatives of IMTA members and industry experts, and will listen to their opinions and suggestions on the work of IMTA in the past years, and talkedabout the new future of mountain tourism development.

GUEST: International Relation Researcher of ENSM, Serge Koenig

IMTA: Since its founding, what fruitful achievements has IMTA made?

Serge Koenig: You do me the honor of participating again in your conference and I would like to thank you for it. You have associated me with the achievements of IMTA since its creation. The Alliance has been able to organize, brilliantly and I can therefore testify to it, meetings of very high quality and annual international conferences with personalities and experts from all over the world.

I was impressed by your “base camp” in your incredible building in Guiyang as much as your open-air theater in front of the beautifull landscape of Xingyi.

There is also the “international mountain day” which is a very good initiative that more mountain territories still have to take ownership of.

And I can cite the technical studies published by IMTA on topics related to the mountain tourism industry. They are concrete and useful tools for operators: they must be pursued.

IMTA: What’s the development trend of mountain tourism and what new opportunities there will be under the new situation?

Serge Koenig: Yes indeed, the world is changing fast today: health crisis, slowdown in globalization, international inflation, political tensions, climate issues, and then the imperative need to preserve biodiversity...

In this context, we need to rethink the tourism model, in a fairer and more virtuous way, with a controlled impact on the natural and cultural environment. We must promote quality rather than quantity, in a way the spirit of craftsmanship rather than massification and industrial ambition. And what territory better than the mountain can be a laboratory of innovation that combines development, responsibility and respect. There is a vast area of reflection, super interesting, for IMTA.

So what is the trend recommended today? It would rather be a tourism of experiences and proximity: no longer wondering “where did you go this weekend?” but rather “what did you do this weekend?”

We are talking about travel with low carbon dioxide emissions, soft mobility. It is less motorized tourism: going hiking with your tent in your backpack, horseback riding in nature, visiting a rural region by bike... Practicing the outdoor sports: climbing, paragliding, canyoning for young people... All this is fulfilling, also very beneficial for health, and develops social ties between cities and countryside.

And then the current global context also teaches us something obvious: that “all tourism” is an extremely fragile development strategy and that we must never sacrifice the traditional local activities of the land. These are two complementary and parallel economies that must be thought out in the right balance.

IMTA: Do you have any suggestion or opinion on the future construction and development of IMTA?

Serge Koenig: The development space of IMTA is vast, in addition of course to continuing your traditional actions.

At the national level first, China has one of the greatest potentials in the world for outdoor and mountain tourism, in terms of natural resources but also in the volume of practitioners.

IMTA can therefore usefully strengthen its national dimension, become a real center of resources and expertise to concretely help project leaders in the field. IMTA has a lot to gain from being a cluster of skills recognized throughout China in particular for the implementation of exemplary mountain economies. The global trend towards the relocation and regionalization of development strategies argues for this.

Provinces and autonomous regions could thus develop an IMTA representative office at home. Such a strengthening of IMTA's influence in China will in fact attract more foreign players within the Alliance: strengthening the national level to strengthen the international level, it is a virtuous circle in my opinion potentially interesting for you.

IMTA will be all the more able to accentuate its sharing of experiences and best practices with other continents and the many mountainous countries concerned by the adaptation of tourism to the major current challenges of the world.

I am convinced that IMTA has a great future ahead of it.