On May 29, the "International Mountain Tourism Day 2025" Theme Events, themed "Embracing Mountains and Seas, Coexisting with Cultures—Mountain Tourism and Cultural Inclusiveness for the Future," was successfully held in Gran Canaria, Spain. During the opening ceremony, the International Mountain Tourism Alliance (IMTA) and the UN Tourism exchanged a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
The MoU centers on promoting mountain tourism sustainable development, establishing a systematic framework that includes socio-economic development, cultural heritage preservation, and rural development. Both parties will focus on achieving inclusive growth by advancing knowledge on tourism trends, flows and impact of mountain tourism in the three dimensions — economic, social, and environmental dimensions, including the concept of smart destinations to strengthen the theoretical foundations for research.
The parties will focus on the innovation and development of sustainable mountain tourism products, deepen research on best practices, and create capacity building and talent development systems to strengthen the momentum for mountain tourism growth. They will also promote research and the dissemination of destination best practices, comprehensively activating the sustainable development of mountain tourism while fostering inclusive growth and empowering communities and the environment.
Christine Brew from UN Tourism stated during the opening ceremony that the UN Tourism has participated in IMTA-hosted themed events for two consecutive years. The leadership of both organizations has met several times in China - Beijing, Spain - Madrid, and France - Nice, engaging in in-depth discussions on sustainable mountain tourism cooperation. The signing of the MoU will further enhance collaboration between the UN Tourism and the IMTA, innovate tourism governance models, promote sustainable development, and leverage mountain tourism to support rural development.
Source: IMTA
Editor Ⅰ: Zhang Wenwen
Editor Ⅱ: Bao Gang
Editor Ⅲ: Liu Guosong
