On May 29, the 2024 "International Mountain Tourism Day" theme event was successfully held in Nice, Alpes-Maritimes, France. Representatives of the Chinese Embassy and Consulates in France, representatives of the French cultural and tourism department, local governments, international organizations, representatives of members of the International Mountain Tourism Alliance, tourism organizations, tourism-related enterprises, industry experts, and news media gathered together to discuss and interact with each other around the theme of the conference on "Mountain Tourism for Mutual Learning among Civilizations" and the theme of the forum on "Climate Change and Mountain Tourism Countermeasures", so as to disseminate the development concept of mutual learning among civilizations and promote the innovation of the "Mountain Tourism +" model.
Bernard Debarbieux, former Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences of the University of Geneva, attended the 2024 International Mountain Tourism Day Forum and delivered a keynote speech on "New Mountain Tourism Strategies to Combat Climate Change":
Much of the thinking about the impact of climate change on mountain tourism and the strategic thinking taken to combat climate change leans towards an economic approach (how to innovate businesses, support them, and save jobs?). and technical methods (how to preserve the resource permanently or expand the scope of the resource). They are rarely interested in social aspects other than employment and cultural consequences, which are in fact essential to the balance of life and environment in mountain areas. Let's try to take this broader perspective and come up with some observations and perspectives.
Global warming is inevitable in the coming decades, and there is no possibility of reversing it. Its impact and threat to the mountain tourism economy are well known, so it is essential to adapt to them. But there are many ways to adapt: resist, accept, accompany. Each of these methods has its costs and benefits, and will lead to different outcomes.
Mount Cook, New Zealand
There is currently a floating or "bubble" resistance on the surface. The few large resorts on which today's ski economy largely relies are the least threatened by snow uncertainty. They are also the snow resorts with the most economic investment (because they have enough money) to artificially control the environment, not to address the causes of climate warming, but to mitigate the consequences of climate warming. Increasingly, they are taking a superficial approach, as practiced in state-of-the-art greenhouses, using "bubbles" that are out of touch with the natural environment: after trying to control avalanches and shaping the detailed topography of ski resorts and areas to be urbanized, they apply intensive artificial snow and optimize the "slipperability" of the resulting snow. Although they vehemently deny it, it is becoming less and less different from existing man-made snow resorts in Japan, the United States or the Gulf states, or the "tropical bubbles" within a two-hour drive of major European cities. This technological and economic model is pushed to the extreme, with a high probability of achieving its goal: control by artificially setting the conditions for carrying out activities, suitable for companies that are only worried about uncertainty.
Eco-friendly snowmaking equipment used for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics
But in the end, are we sure that these bubbles will be able to resist the dynamics of mountains and climates beyond the capabilities of all the engineers, technicians, and managers in the world for long periods of time? After all, who would watch the snow before it has come after witnessing the extent of the collapse of the mountain caused by the melting permafrost, the raging lava flows, and the destruction of the mountain rivers? More importantly for the reflection that takes place here, are we well aware of the cost of this model that tends to operate superficially in two main areas? First of all, what happens to a mountain experience in a "bubble" that is not affected by disasters? Second, can truly local players, not just a bunch of service providers, survive or thrive in this context?
The Taizicheng high-speed rail station puts Chongli into a 1.5-hour traffic circle in Beijing
Accept and rebuild, if an organized resistance to climate change can allow high-altitude "bubbles" to temporarily save their economic model through radical measures, then the situation is very different for the vast majority of small and medium-sized ski resorts. They have no choice but to resist this tactic of "resistance". Because, although they are also dependent on snow resources and skiing activities, the strategy of relying heavily on government subsidies and resisting by increasing artificiality has failed for them in advance. The alternative is not to give up, but it is also useless and deadly, it does not lead to any collective project; On the contrary, embracing the new environment, rebuilding the place and mobilizing the local community triggers a rethinking of oneself. In the face of this dual challenge, positive strategies to diversify tourism products and promote so-called soft tourism have had limited effectiveness. Because the era of expert-led planning is over, we are still grappling with economic models and public policy issues, let alone sharing them.
The venue for the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics in Chongli
The motivation to act in the context of this acceptance is threefold: to free oneself from dependence on old patterns and to allow oneself to think differently; Harness the dynamism of individuals and local societies, whose resources of imagination and creativity are often underestimated; Rethink the connections between people, places, and activities, while providing new forms and places for tourism or the resources and imagination it relies on. This reconstruction can be achieved only after a thorough assessment of the new environment and the envisioning of the use of the necessary elements of the existing factors and the experimentation of new ideas. For many towns and cities located near large cities, the realistic approach is to increase residential attractiveness; In fact, the resources on which tourism activities in villages and small resorts depend are not much different from those that attract new permanent or dual-residential residents; In addition, if these people want to settle down, then they are more likely than tourists to participate in local economic activities and social life. In addition to a favourable regional environment, this situation mainly requires some investment to ensure local accessibility and connectivity, as well as genuine voluntariness in terms of active social life.
Three Gorges Ski Resort in France
All of the above can be reinterpreted in the light of lessons learned from space and territorial affairs in the context of the Corona crisis. This parallelism may be surprising: on the one hand the snow disappears, on the other the virus invades, but there are also similarities. In response to the spread of the pandemic, we have observed two strategies: on the one hand, restriction, isolation, and concealment, in order to prevent threats; On the other hand, accept the spread of the virus and adjust behavior through personal responsibility and adaptability. The first strategy is similar to the resistance "bubbles" of high-altitude resorts; The second strategy is similar to accepting inevitable change, as in more fragile snow fields. More advantageously, the second strategy suggests that due to telecommuting, some people will be able to choose to adapt to their living and working habits, which is exactly what small and medium-sized ski resorts can try. But there are also volume differences: the coronavirus crisis lasted for two years; It soon returned to normal; And the "post-pandemic era" is ultimately not much different from the world before it. In terms of climate change, we are dealing with a protracted crisis; What we need is not a short-term adjustment, but a revolution and a reconstruction.
Source: International Mountain Tourism Alliance
First trial: Zhang Wenwen
Second trial: Wu Dan
Third trial: Zhang Yijing