Conversely there are regions which despite their easy accessibility are being sidelined economically. And whenever tourism is one of the main economic factors in the Alps, ecological and social sustainability must also be taken into account.
Successful examples of good practice were presented at the workshop, including the management of visitor flows at the Logarska Dolina Nature Park in Slovenia, transport management at Italy's Adamello Brenta Nature Park, and mountain road management in Austria's Dobratsch Nature Park. These projects have succeeded in reducing private motorised traffic using targeted measures, shuttle buses and charges. During the field trip the forty and more participants were able to see two key aspects of visitor flow management at the Triglav National Park: the Vrata Valley and the Planica Valley. Later on, they explored the topic at length in working groups using concrete examples.
Some of the main conclusions reached at the workshop included measures such as charging fees, talking to all the parties involved in a project and involving them in the decision-making process, and gaining the acceptance of local residents through quick successes with implementation.
The Workshop documents are soon to be posted online at www.cipra.org/future ("Downloads").