山地旅游与健康同行
——写在“国际山地旅游日”
2020年是不寻常的一年。突如其来的新冠（COVID-19）疫情给全球经济带来了前所未有的冲击。据国际货币基金组织（IMF）估算，2020 年全球经济将急剧收缩3%。联合国世界旅游组织（UNWTO）最新数据显示，2020年第一季度国际旅客人数下降了22％，仅3月一个月就较去年同比减少57%，造成旅游收入损失约800亿美元。如果各国从7月初逐渐解除旅行限制，2020年全球入境游客总人次可能较去年下降58%；如果各国12月初才解除旅行限制，那么全球入境游客总人次可能较去年同比减少78%。据联合国世界旅游组织（UNWTO）专家小组的调查预估，到2020年最后一个季度会出现复苏的迹象，但主要在2021年复苏。
山地旅游作为全球旅游业的重要组成部分，也无可避免受到疫情的严重冲击和影响。面对疫情的挑战，山地旅游相关领域，包括旅游目的地、旅游企业、行业协会、科研院校等，积极采取各种措施予以应对，克服重重困难。从当前和长远看，疫情将对山地旅游的方方面面产生持续的影响，应对市场变化，把握发展机遇，共克时艰，实现产业复苏与振兴，是我们共同面对的课题。从旅游业带动就业、扩大消费、增进友谊、连通世界、创造美好等特性，可以预期旅游业将是推动经济复苏的重要引擎。山地旅游历来秉持亲近自然、绿色低碳、健康环保的理念，疫后势必更加受到从业者和消费者的重视，其衍生出的高品质产品也必将受到消费者青睐。我们要坚定重振山地旅游的信心，及时并深入研究疫后旅游复苏振兴的思路、方法和路径，让生态文明、可持续旅游理念成为我们共同的遵循，让山地成为人与自然和谐相处的美丽家园。
与以往不同，今年的“国际山地旅游日”承载了更多对过去的思考和对未来的期待。在这个特殊的日子，我们倡议大家携起手来，推动山地旅游与健康同行。将健康安全作为与生态文明、人与自然和谐、可持续发展并重的发展理念与重要遵循，创建健康安全的旅游环境，推动山地旅游的发展更加符合人们对于健康生活的向往和美好追求；建立危机管理机制，优化结构与创新发展，构建起更加健康、更具韧性的产业结构，增强抗风险能力；通过多种渠道和多元方式，充分地利用“国际山地旅游日”等平台，推广传播山地旅游健康自然、绿色生态的特点，呼吁人们走进山地、拥抱自然，体验山地、感受美好，与自然为伴、与健康同行。
Mountain Tourism
for a Healthy Life
－ On the International Mountain Tourism Day
2020 is an unusual year. The sudden outbreak of COVID-19 has caused an unprecedented impact on the global economy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that the global economy will contract by a staggering 3% in 2020. The latest data from the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) shows that the number of international tourist arrivals fell by 22% in the first quarter of 2020, and down by 57% in March alone compared to the same month last year, resulting in a loss of tourism revenue worth about $80 billion. If countries start to remove restrictions from early July, international tourist arrivals could drop by 58% year-on-year in 2020; if countries keep their travel restrictions through to early December, the figure could be 78% lower than that of last year. According to the estimate of an UNWTO expert panel, tourism will start to show signs of recovery in the last quarter of 2020, but most part of the recovery will only happen in 2021.
Being an important component of the global tourism industry, mountain tourism is also seriously affected by COVID-19. Facing the challenges of the pandemic, mountain tourism-related sectors, including tourist destinations, tourism enterprises, industry associations and research institutes, have all taken active measures to cope with the difficult situation. Given the on-going and lasting impact of COVID-19 on mountain tourism, we all share the same task of adapting to market changes, seizing development opportunities and promoting the recovery and revitalization of the tourism industry in a challenging environment. Tourism, which plays a unique role in generating jobs, expanding consumption, deepening friendship, connecting the world and creating beauty, is a major engine of economic recovery. In the meantime, mountain tourism, which is known as a natural, green, low-carbon, healthy and environment-friendly activity, will surely attract more attention of the industry and consumers after the pandemic, and its high-quality products will also win the hearts of more consumers. Let us strengthen our confidence in the future of mountain tourism, make timely efforts to explore feasible ideas, methods and pathways for the post-pandemic recovery of the tourism industry, and embrace the concepts of ecological civilization and sustainable tourism to make mountains a place where humanity live in harmony with the nature.
Unlike before, this year’s International Mountain Tourism Day gives us an opportunity to reflect on the past and aspire for the future. On this special day, let’s join hands to promote mountain tourism for a healthy life. Here’s our appeal: making health security an equally important development concept and guideline as ecological civilization, harmony between man and nature, and sustainable development, creating a healthy and secure tourism environment, and promoting mountain tourism in line with people’s aspirations for a healthy life and pursuit of beauty; establishing a crisis management mechanism, promoting structural adjustment and innovative development, building a healthier and more resilient industrial structure and enhancing the capability to fend off risks; making full use of the International Mountain Tourism Day and other platforms through various channels and means to promote the healthy, natural, green and eco-friendly features of mountain tourism, and encourage people to walk into mountains, experience the beauty of nature, and embrace a natural and healthy way of life.
