Tourism from mountain resources

Five-color Lake in Jiuzhaigou Valley National Park.

Mountains are a major tourism resource, even the main resource in China, Bhutan, Nepal, India, Korea, Japan, Taiwan, Sri Lanka and some Central Asian countries of the former Soviet Union...

Sacred Mountains of China

In China, mountains cover two-thirds of its total land area. China also has seven of the world's 12 peaks that are over 8,000 meters above sea level.

The famous mountain ranges in China are the Himalayas, Kunlun, Tianshan, Qinling, Daxingan, Taihang, Qilian Mountains and the Hengduan Mountains. These mountains are not only natural heritages but also contain a treasure trove of cultural heritages dating back thousands of years.

For example, the Four Great Mountains are the four sacred mountains of Chinese Buddhism, including Wutai Mountain, Jiuhua Mountain, Emei Mountain and Putuo Mountain. These mountains are extremely special because they are not only beautiful but also sacred, and are sought after by Buddhists from all over the world.

Ganden Sumtsenling Monastery. Photo source: travel agencies.

Mountain tourism in China is very well developed. It starts with strategic planning. Secondly, China preserves both natural and cultural heritage associated with mountains very well. Thirdly, the government is a pioneer in investing in infrastructure for mountain tourism, including roads, vehicles, and infrastructure for the entire tourist area.

This ensures optimization and avoids the pursuit of pure profit. After the state invests, businesses and people participate in business according to specific assignments and tasks, in accordance with the provisions of the law.

One example that can be seen clearly is the tourism development of the Hengduan Mountains. This mountain range is located in the southeast of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. It is located in the territories of Sichuan, Yunnan provinces and the eastern Tibet Autonomous Region.

Hengduan covers an area of over 600 thousand square kilometers with a terrain alternating between high mountain peaks, deep canyons and valleys, and rivers including the four major Asian rivers: Irrawaddy, Salween, Mekong and Yangtze.

The environment in the Hengduan Mountains is very diverse, including grasslands, forests, wetlands, glacial lakes and glaciers. Due to the rich and isolated habitat, many rare but endangered species of flora and fauna can be found in this mountain region.

At the same time, there is also cultural diversity of more than 20 ethnic minority groups living in villages and hamlets. The Hengduan Range has extremely world-famous scenic spots such as Jiuzhaigou Valley National Park, Daocheng Yading Nature Reserve, Shangri-La City and Potatso National Park...

Many tourist attractions on the Hengduan range have had conservation policies in place for decades, even when the country was facing economic difficulties. Looking at Jiuzhaigou, it is clear that, although discovered in 1974, it has retained its natural appearance, even withstanding major earthquakes.

From Chengdu, visitors can take a high-speed train to near Jiuzhaigou. In Yading, visitors can take a plane. The airport in Daocheng County opened in 2013 and became the highest civil airport in the world at that time (at an altitude of 4,411m). Chengdu and Kunming both have large international airports, with many flights to countries in the region and beyond.

Environmental protection law

South Korea is also a country with 70% of its area covered by mountains. Therefore, they also focus on developing mountain tourism. However, South Korea focuses on environmental development, so hotels are almost not allowed to be built on about 80% of the country's mountains.

Mount Cong Ca is the highest in the Hoanh Doan range, at 7,556m.

It was not until 2013 that Korea allowed the construction of environmentally friendly cable cars. After that, they allowed the construction of pedestrian bridges and glass bridges to attract tourists to the mountains, but they had to ensure safety and environmental protection.

Korea has also developed ski resorts on high mountain peaks to ensure that even in winter, it still attracts many tourists to go to the mountains. Currently, Korea has 12 famous resorts located in the area specializing in serving skiers on high mountain peaks in winter.
Countries clearly see that to develop sustainable mountain tourism, in addition to strict conservation, there must be certain barriers during times when there are too many visitors.

In Japan, after the pandemic, tourists visiting Mount Fuji were too crowded, with more than 220,000 visitors in just 3 months of the climbing season. This explosion was accompanied by a huge amount of waste left by tourists during the climbing stages, along with traffic jams...

So they decided to restrict it from July 1, 2024, the start of the new climbing season. The Fuji climbing route will still have three routes that do not require admission. However, the relatively easy Yoshida trail starting from Tokyo, which about 60% of climbers usually take, will be restricted.

Japan currently allows a maximum of 4,000 climbers per day on the Yoshida trail, charging 2,000 yen (about $12) per person. Japan is also the first country to launch an online reservation service for the route, due to concerns about safety and environmental impact on Japan's highest mountain.

In Bhutan - a country in the Himalayas, there is a policy of charging each tourist who visits this place to limit the negative impact on the environment. Initially, they charged 65 USD per visitor per day, then increased to 200 USD per visitor per day, and from 2023 reduced to 100 USD per visitor per day. Bhutan is always wary of the impact of mass tourism and prohibits climbing to protect the sacredness of the peaks...

To grow the tourism industry from mountain resources, it is necessary to have a reasonable tourism development policy.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/du-lich-tu-tai-nguyen-nui-3142431.html