Editor’s Note
On 29 May, the 2022 International Mountain Tourism Day theme event was held online and themed on “Mountain Tourism Promotes Healthy Life and Cultural Exchange”. The event motivated the New Media network, connected IMTA members, destination agencies, enterprises, and experts from all over the world, and carried out “cloud communication, dialogue, and presentation” around three chapters — “Focus · Mountain”, “Health · Life”, and “Civilization · Communication”. Against the complex global landscape and threat from COVID-19, the event helps create a healthier and more positive atmosphere and market for mountain tourism, promote cultural exchange, friendly communication, and mutual integration among countries, to jointly prepare, build, and share a bright future of mountain tourism. At the event, Dai Bin, President of China Tourism Academy (CTA), delivered a speech.
Mountain is a Critical Spatial Carrier of Meeting People's New Demand of Tourism
After China has comprehensively built a moderately prosperous society. The tourism industry of China has entered a new stage of the comprehensive development of mass tourism . In this new era and a new stage, mountains have become a brand new space for the development of mass tourism. We know that the development of tourism always has to rely on a certain territorial space. Be it urban areas or rural areas. Be it natural resources such as mountains and rivers or historical culture. Intangible cultural heritage and other historical and human resources are always based upon a certain national territory.
Mountains are very important natural ecotourism destinations for various countries, especially those with a vast land area. They are also a brand new national space carrier for the development of new types of tourism such as green tourism, health tourism and wellness tourism.
Due to historic reasons and the natural environment in the process of historical development, many original folk cultures, historic culture, and intangible cultural heritage have been preserved in mountains. When tourists go to the mountainous areas for tourism activities, they will naturally communicate with local residents interact with local cultural spaces, and integrate and learn from the local culture. Therefore, the development of mountain tourism is also an important way of international tourism exchanges, promoting cultural diversity, appreciating the beauty of culture and enhancing cultural self-confidence.
The tourism nowadays pays more attention to safety, quality and health. We’ve noticed that during Qingming Festival and Labor Day holidays in the first half of this year, new tourism needs such as camping, homestay, self-driving, and rehabilitation continued to emerge and new forms of tourism are also flourishing relying on the land and space of the mountains. In such a context, we proposed the concept of International Mountain Tourism Day as a timely response to the new trends of tourism.
In the past few years, IMTA has done fruitful work in promoting mountain tourism awareness, cultivating mountain tourism market, expanding mountain tourism exchanges and innovating the commercial activities and products of mountain tourism. In particular, social activities such as annual theme, forums theme days and released data reports have played a very positive role in promoting the development of our tourism industry.
As a non-governmental international tourism organization initiated by and based in China, the International Mountain Tourism Alliance has explored a development opportunity, based on China's tourism market and a new model for promoting international exchanges. Congratulations!
Regarding the development of mountain tourism in the future, I would like to propose the following four suggestions:
First, we must follow the direction of green tourism, keep the ecological red line and aim toward health. Only carefully reserve the mountains and continuously expand the new connotations of health, safety, quality and fashion in mountain tourism will mountain tourism achieve sustainable development. Whether it is countryside tourism or ice and snow tourism, the development of tourism formats is determined by the needs of the common citizens. While guiding people’s demands for tourism, we must cultivate their concept of green tourism firstly and keep the red line of ecological civilization.
Second, in the process of mountain tourism development, we must focus on cultivating target markets of summer resorts, ice and snow sports, camping, outdoor activities, etc. Only by understanding the needs of these target markets, can we have an anchor and a direction in terms of land and space planning, tourism development planning, government policies and promoting the cultivation of market entities. It is impossible to make everybody go mountain climbing and choose high-end tourism products right away. So I think that in the process of developing mountain tourism, we need to fully consider the public needs and start from developing the tourism and leisure market, which is favored by the majority of citizens, such as summer resorts, ice and snow tourism, and outdoor camping. Only in this way can the way of IMTA advocates be accepted by a broader market, and our industrial development be equipped with a market basis.
Third, I hope that more technological innovation factors can be introduced into the development of mountain tourism, and that digitization and smart tourism can become new engines of mountain tourism development. We know that compared with urban tourism and rural tourism, which rely on our familiar land space the development of mountain tourism and the carry out of leisure activities, may largely depend on destination information, navigation and some new information providers including off-road vehicle GPS, Beidou navigation, and map dealers. We need new commercial formats including tent campsites, self-driving camps, homestays and fresh types of human resources to promote the development of mountain tourism. Therefore, we must do everything possible to cultivate different types of market entities with innovative consciousness market competitiveness and product innovation capabilities. Of course, in the process we also have to rely on traditional travel agencies and online travel operators to help us attract customers. But the more important thing is to cultivate a new type of tourism.
Finally, the development of mountain tourism must respect the development rights of permanent residents in the local community and rural areas. In the process of tourism development, tourists have a right to share the resources, and local residents also have the right to develop. Most of the time, these two rights are supplemented by each other, but sometimes there are also conflicts. For example, as tourists, we may hope to see the well-preserved natural environment and historical features. Nevertheless, for local residents who live in mountainous areas they hope to improve their living conditions and lead a modern life. Do the local residents really hope to always live in the stilted houses in the mountains, just for the sake of tourism and cultural reservation? I guess that they also hope that they can go to Guiyang for a visit during their holidays, and like other Guiyang citizens eat a bowl of Hot and Sour Rice Noodles on the street in the scorching summer. They would rather hang out in the streets with Vegetarian Spring Rolls than stay in the mountains forever. Therefore, in the process of developing mountain tourism, how to improve the comprehensive quality of neighborhood residents in the tourism destination and their abilities for social participation and social development. These are additional ethical responsibilities for mountain tourism.
I sincerely hope that International Mountain Tourism Day can be held in the spirit of co-construction, co-consultation and mutual sharing and help mountain tourism will achieve healthy and sustainable development in the future. Wish the IMTD Theme Events a success. Thank you very much.
