"C. Brenden Martin examines tourism in the context of the transformation of transportation networks, urban and rural community development, and the changing role of government in regulating tourism. Martin illustrates how tourism represents a double-edged sword, cutting both ways in its impact on the region. It is a transformative force that has accelerated the modernization of the Mountain South in many ways, and yet tourism has also provided the main economic rationale for the region's cultural, historical, and environmental preservation movements."--BOOK JACKET.

Tourism is the world's largest industry, and ecotourism is rapidly emerging as its fastest growing segment. As interest in nature travel increases, so does concern for conservation of the environment and the well-being of local peoples and cultures. Appalachia seems an ideal destination for ecotourists, with its rugged mountains, uniquely diverse forests, wild rivers, and lively arts culture. And ecotourism promises much for the region: protecting the environment while bringing income to disadvantaged communities. But can these promises be kept? Ecotourism in Appalachia examines both the potential and the threats that tourism holds for Central Appalachia. The authors draw lessons from destinations that have suffered from the "tourist trap syndrome," including Nepal and Hawaii. They conclude that only carefully regulated and locally controlled tourism can play a positive role in Appalachia's economic development.

Mountains have long held an appeal for people around the world. This book focusses on the diversity of perspectives, interaction and role of tourism within these areas. Providing a vital update to the current literature, it considers the interdisciplinary context of communities, the creation of mountain tourism experiences and the impacts tourism has on these environments. Including authors from Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America, the development, planning and governance issues are also covered.

An exploration of tourist locales that have been restored or adapted to preserve some aspect of the history of the American South.

All around the world, mountain tourism is driven by the human desire to experience nature in unique settings. In turn, tourism has proved to be a lifeline for many communities in mountain regions, and it can play a leading role in sustaining systems that contribute to protect these fragile ecosystems from overexploitation and support their adaptation to climate change. When the pandemic led to lockdowns, mountains became an attractive option for travellers looking for less crowded destinations and open-air experiences. Now, as international travel returns, we have an opportunity to rethink mountain tourism, its impact on natural resources and livelihoods, and how to manage it better. In this regard, measuring the volume of visitors to mountains is the first vital step we must take. With the right data, we can better control the dispersal of visitor flows, support adequate planning, improve knowledge on visitor patterns, build sustainable products in line with consumer needs, and create suitable policies which will foster sustainable development and make sure tourism activities benefit local communities. This study, jointly developed by the Mountain Partnership Secretariat of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), addresses the current lack of relevant data and so improves our understanding of mountain tourism. The study also identifies trends and provides a set of recommendations to advance the measurement of mountain tourism, including the enhancement of official tourism statistics through the use of big data and new technologies. The United Nations proclaimed 2022 as the International Year of Sustainable Mountain Development to increase awareness of its importance and to contribute to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). That same year also marked the 20th anniversary from the first International Year ever devoted to mountains as well as the 20th anniversary of the Mountain Partnership. UNWTO and the Mountain Partnership have been long collaborating to advance the contribution the tourism sector can make to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda and the 17 SDGs. This study is a follow-up to the 2021 joint UNWTO/FAO publication Mountain Tourism – Towards a More Sustainable Path. It will enhance our understanding of tourism in mountains and the need to improve not only how we measure its volume, but also its full economic, social and environmental impacts, to ensure a more sustainable, resilient, accessible and inclusive development of mountain tourism that leaves no one behind.

A sophisticated inquiry into tourism's social and economic power across the South. In the early 19th century, planter families from South Carolina, Georgia, and eastern North Carolina left their low-country estates during the summer to relocate their households to vacation homes in the mountains of western North Carolina. Those unable to afford the expense of a second home relaxed at the hotels that emerged to meet their needs. This early tourist activity set the stage for tourism to become the region's New South industry. After 1865, the development of railroads and the bugeoning consumer culture led to the expansion of tourism across the whole region. Richard Starnes argues that western North Carolina benefited from the romanticized image of Appalachia in the post-Civil War American consciousness. This image transformed the southern highlands into an exotic travel destination, a place where both climate and culture offered visitors a myriad of diversions. This depiction was futher bolstered by partnerships between state and federal agencies, local boosters, and outside developers to create the atrtactions necessary to lure tourists to the region. As tourism grew, so did the tension between leaders in the industry and local residents. The commodification of regional culture, low-wage tourism jobs, inflated land prices, and negative personal experiences bred no small degree of animosity among mountain residents toward visitors. Starnes's study provides a better understanding of the significant role that tourism played in shaping communities across the South.

Once upon a time, it was impossible to drive through the South without coming across signs to “See Rock City” or similar tourist attractions. From battlegrounds to birthplaces, and sites in between, heritage tourism has always been part of how the South attracts visitors—and defines itself—yet such sites are often understudied in the scholarly literature. As the contributors to this volume make clear, the narrative of southern history told at these sites is often complicated by race, influenced by local politics, and shaped by competing memories. Included are essays on the meanings of New Orleans cemeteries; Stone Mountain, Georgia; historic Charleston, South Carolina; Yorktown National Battlefield; Selma, Alabama, as locus of the civil rights movement; and the homes of Mark Twain, Margaret Mitchell, and other notables. Destination Dixie reveals that heritage tourism in the South is about more than just marketing destinations and filling hotel rooms; it cuts to the heart of how southerners seek to shape their identity and image for a broader touring public—now often made up of northerners and southerners alike.