Guest Blog

Data on the size and impact of tourism in mountain regions remains scarce, and quantifying its volume is still a challenge. A new report, conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), and the largest provider of tourism data, the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), highlights the importance of understanding and quantifying mountain tourism.   Mountains, home to about 1.1 billion people, attract people from all over the world for many reasons, including natural beauty, climate, biodiversity, local cultures, resource accessibility, and transportation options, to name a few. This year, it has been estimated that the mountain and snow tourism market will reach around $4.9 billion. By 2033, it is predicted to grow to $8 billion. If data suggests there will be an increase in visitor numbers to mountain regions in the future, without the vital information, local communities and policymakers may be unable to adapt...

[caption id="attachment_2725" align="alignright" width="300"] Fig. 1: Mount Asahi-dake (2,291 m), the highest peak in DNP, in the foreground, and the Ohachi-daira caldera in the center (Photo: TW)Daisetsuzan National Park (DNP), located in central Hokkaido, a northernmost island of Japan, is Japan’s largest national park (226,764 hectares). Residents in the city of Sapporo with 2 million populations can access the park area in 2.5 to 3 hours by car, and can enjoy hiking/trekking and hot springs in the park’s volcanic landscape (Fig. 1). In spite of its close location to such a large city and in site of the large number of visitors, DNP is home to densely populated brown bears.New challenges are now emerging and addressed in DNP. Among them are offering learning opportunities to visitors and involving local stakeholders in the park management. However, most information is available only in Japanese, as most research publications (>2,800 in total) are written...