The importance and potential of forests for tourism – A case study on Larix decidua in an inner-Alpine mountain region: Poster presented at: International Mountain Conference. 8-12 September 2019. Innsbruck. Austria
The development of rural tourism is closely linked to the recreation function of the forest and the provision of forest services for recreational use. Due to the high share of forest cover in Austria (about 50 %), Austria features a large number of such “natural” recreational areas. In rural regions, they are regularly utilized for tourist activities such as hiking or mountain biking. This tourist activity is often given greater priority than the health of the forests themselves, however: forests become a mere scene for tourism, a landscape that is taken for granted because it is
available in abundance. If the forest itself is made the focus of attention, only special tree species are promoted. For example species such as Swiss stone pine are particularly highlighted and well known, while others such as Larch often receive little attention in connection with recreational purposes and landscape aesthetics values. An example of a region rich in forests and larch trees is the district of Murau in Styria. In this area, there is an ongoing project to promote Larch in mixed stands i) to improve diversity and resilience of forests, ii) to make forests and Larch a more central concern in tourism considerations and iii) to use this potential for tourism. Therefore a quantitative survey was carried out in various hiking areas of the region using a questionnaire. The survey took both tourism and forestry aspects into account. Of particular interest was the question how the varied larch cultural landscape in the region affects day trippers (locals, excursion guests) and multi-day tourists. In addition, general questions were asked on the topics of forests and recreation as well as on touristic use of forest areas.
