Published on : Wednesday, March 6, 2019
Organised by the Berchtesgadener Land Region, along with the Bavarian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, the UNWTO Euro-Asian Mountain Tourism Conference brought together more than 270 participants from 30 countries.
UNWTO Secretary-General, Zurab Pololikashvili, recalled that mountains entailed many opportunities to promote inclusion, regional development and better lives through tourism. He also stressed that mountain tourism needs to be planned, developed, governed and managed in a sustainable manner.
Hubert Aiwanger, Deputy Bavarian Minister-President and State Minister of Economic Affairs, Regional Development and Energy emphasized that “Tourism is an important sector in Bavaria‘s economy. Last year we welcomed over 39.1 million guests, among them nearly 10 million from abroad. Overall, we recorded almost 100 million accommodations. Hosting this year‘s UNWTO in Berchtesgaden gives us a chance to show the diversity and quality of Bavaria’s tourism. Both UNWTO and Bavaria stand for an environmentally friendly and sustainable tourism strategy. Thus, Bavaria is the right place for this important conference“.
The local host of the conference, district Chief Executive of the Berchtesgadener Land, Georg Grabner, was very pleased “that that the world of tourism gathers in Bavaria, here in Berchtesgaden. With the Berchtesgaden National Park with Watzmann mountain and lake Königssee and as a UNESCO-Biosphere-Reserve we focus strongly on sustainability, especially in terms of tourism. I wish all visitors of the UNWTO-conference a pleasant stay with interesting impressions in the middle of the magnificent mountain scenery of the Berchtesgadener Land.”