Protected Areas in the Alps: The Success Factors of Nature-Based Tourism and the Challenge for Regional Policy

Abstract

In the rural periphery of the Alpine region nature-based tourism in protected areas can considerably contribute to regional development. In order to create positive effects for sustainable regional development, certain conditions have to be met. Based on a comprehensive two-stage Delphi survey of 27 experienced actors in protected areas and the neighbouring tourism associations in the Alpine region, 14 success factors in the following three categories could be identified: 1. general conditions of protected area tourism, 2. cooperation between the actors involved, and 3. design of tourism services and products. The success factors, and accordingly the nature-based tourism in protected areas, can and must be promoted by regional politics in order to achieve positive effects for regional development. This includes, among other things, the appreciation of protected areas as well as the adaptation of the respective regional policy instruments.

Mount Cavallo Botanical Path: a proposal for the valorization of an area of the Orobie Bergamasche Regional Park (Southern Alps)

“…Although these guidelines meet with broad consensus among those involved in the valorization of protected areas, the integration of nature tourism with the management of protected areas in Europe remains a key issue on which to conduct research in order to develop and constantly improve strategies of action (Eagles 2009;Hammer et al 2012;Hammer & Siegrist 2008;McCool 2006;Newsome et al 2009). However, in our opinion, valid actions to prevent tourism having a negative impact on the nature of a protected area such as the one we studied might be: the creation of a calendar of hiking tours operated by experienced guides (which is already the case in many parks, including the Orobie Bergamasche RP); the promotion of environmental education activities; and the provision of a good network of staff (such as park wardens or rangers, or voluntary ecological guards) to monitor the behaviour RI WRXULVWV LQ WKH ÀHOG SHQDOL]LQJ WKHP LQ WKH FDVH RI unlawful conduct, as is already the case in many Italian parks, including those in Lombardy.…”

Alpine parks between yesterday and tomorrow – a conceptual history of Alpine national parks via tourism in charismatic parks in Austria, Germany and Switzerland

“…A wide range of studies concerning nature-based tourism (e. g. Hammer et al 2012;Hammer & Siegrist 2008;Knaus 2012;Siegrist & Stremlow 2009;Siegrist et al 2015) indicates that there is a strong connection between tourism issues and protected areas. This article wants to shed a light on the historical aspects of this long-term relationship.…”

“…Referring to the great dangers of mass tourism for nature conservation, the then Chief of Forestry and Nature Conservation, Hermann Göring, declared the area around the Königssee a special nature reserve. There, as well as in the Danube wetlands and the Schorfheide, he could pursue his hunting interests undisturbed (Job 2010). Adolf Hitler and the entire leadership of the National Socialist Party had holiday homes in Berchtesgaden.…”

Tourism Development in Inner Mountain Areas—The Local Stakeholders’ Point of View through a Mixed Method Approach

“…Hammer and Siegrist [62] have identified environmental protection as the most relevant factor for the development of naturalistic tourism in marginal areas, which however must be supported by effective policies by local stakeholders. Knowledge of the local stakeholders' opinion and needs is essential to develop effective territorial development policies in protected areas.…”