Contribution of Ecological Tourism in Europe (ETE) on “Tourism in Mountain Areas ” to the 64th session of the United Nations General Assembly:

Tourism is one of the fastest growing industries with an annual average growth rate about 5%, and numbers of international travel might nearly double until 2020. Having experienced a growth of 25 % between 1995 and 2005, tourism today accounts for 10 % of the world's economic activity. However, tourism can be a threat for mountain areas and its people. Natural habitats are being destroyed to build hotels and other tourism infrastructure. Tourists need large amounts of space and resources, often in pristine mountain For instance, mountains in the Slovak Republic are under threat by large scale tourism investments. Current situation is unbalanced, short-term private interests are preferred against long-term public interests. State administration is yet not a strong leader for sustainable mountain development. On the other hand, tourism is one of potential long-term sources of income and creates positive effects that can be channelled towards both conservation and benefit sharing. ETE implements with its partners projects to mitigate the negative impacts and develop tourism in a positive way