Ecotourism Management in Mountainous Areas

Mountains are one of the recreational and economic areas of human being. In recent decades ecotourism development has been considered as top priority in mountain areas. In every region, ecological, socio-cultural, and economic conditions, threats and opportunities of ecotourism development should be considered. The opportunities include environmental conservation; increasing income, job, and investment; improvement of infrastructure, educational and sanitary conditions; and increasing of cultural interactions. Threats include environmental pollution and degradation, expenses of infrastructure, inattention to local culture, illegal activities, consumption of non-native products, and change of land use patterns. With the help of optimum planning and management, we can change ecotourism to an outstanding economic activity in mountain areas. Applied approaches for ecotourism development include sustainability policy; environmental priorities; development diversity; attention to local culture; review of government structure and regulations; communication, interpretation, and education. Considering the above approaches, ecotourism can change to a leading economic activity in sensitive mountain areas.