Conclusions of the IX World Congress on Mountain Tourism

Last week I had the pleasure of participating in the 9th edition of the World Congress on Mountain Tourism “Mountainlikers” which is held biannually in Andorra.

On this occasion the congress was dedicated to the adventure sports practiced in the mountains, and a significant part of the speakers focused their presentations on this topic.

Although I was not able to attend all the presentations, these are some of the conclusions I reached:

1. Adventure tourism is softening: Adventures are becoming more accessible to everyone. In reality, users are looking for “special moments”, experiences that are unique and memorable, without needing to be extreme. The trend seems to be that tourists are increasingly looking for combinations of health and fun. In this sense, I would highlight phrases such as “thermal water & mountain destination are a good combination"and the tendency to mix Medical Tourism and Mountain Tourism, as a way of de-seasonalizing a destination.
2. Sustainable Tourism: all types of mountain tourism, If managed correctly, can be seen as a type of sustainable tourism due to its social aspect and the fact that the income can be shared among the mountain population. Also because if we seek "authenticity" as a value proposition of the destination, this type of tourism is a very good way of making the local culture known and therefore, of preserving it.
3. Environment: When managing mountain tourism, it is extremely important to take into account environmental conservation. In this regard, several examples were shown of how this is being done in destinations such as Peru, Switzerland and Andorra, among others.

Two initiatives worth highlighting:

On the one hand, the company Milenium Destination which organises excursions between French and Korean people with the aim of getting to know the destination, its people and its culture: on their trips, 10 French people travel to Korea to go trekking with 10 Koreans, with whom they stay and live for the duration of the trip. They also organise it the other way around.

On the other hand, the mountain clothing brand Marmot, shared with the congressmen its innovative marketing strategy based on trying to provide unique experiences to its clients and then publicizing these experiences through its website and social networks. I leave with these lines its promotional video, which was one of the most entertaining things of the congress.

Finally, I finish this summary with a small photo gallery of the congress and the activities of the technical session on the last day in which we were able to learn first-hand and insitu Naturlandia, one of the best-developed Andorran tourist resources in terms of product creation and marketing.