=Paper=
{{Paper
|id=Vol-1498/HAICTA_2015_paper55
|storemode=property
|title=Assessing the Environmental Impact of Mountain Tourism. The Case of Elatochori Ski Centre, Greece
|pdfUrl=https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1498/HAICTA_2015_paper55.pdf
|volume=Vol-1498
|dblpUrl=https://dblp.org/rec/conf/haicta/Tsiaras15
}}
==Assessing the Environmental Impact of Mountain Tourism. The Case of Elatochori Ski Centre, Greece==
https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-1498/HAICTA_2015_paper55.pdf
Assessing the Environmental Impact of Mountain
Tourism. The Case of Elatochori Ski Centre, Greece
Stefanos Tsiaras1
1
Department of Forestry, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece,
e-mail: stefanostsiaras@gmail.com
Abstract. The development of mountain tourism in Greece is a recent
phenomenon and one that has been affected by the economic crisis. Key factor
to its development was the ski resorts that spread through the country
especially in the last twenty years. The present paper focuses on a ski resort in
Greece, Elatochori Pierias, attempting to assess the impact of mountain
tourism on the sustainable development of the area. Apart from the obvious
economic benefits, the ski resorts have negative impact on the environment
and the society. Therefore, ski resorts cannot be characterized as sustainable
according to the spirit of the three pillars of sustainability.
Keywords: mountain tourism, sustainable development, environmental
protection, ski centre, Greece
1 Introduction
Mountain tourism has gained popularity over the last years in Greece, especially
through the development of ski resorts all over the country.
According to Butler (1993), sustainable tourism was a key concept for the
researchers since the early 1990s. Although there is broad consensus that tourism
development should be sustainable, the way of achieving this is an object of debate.
(Gössling et al., 2005).
The development of mountain tourism has been mentioned by several researchers
(e.g. André, 1998; Godde et al., 2000) as a way to reinforce the income of the
residents in mountainous areas, because the traditional practices (agriculture,
livestock breeding and forestry) were not profitable enough. The development of ski
resorts was a key factor in the development of mountain tourism in Europe (Moser
and Moser, 1986; Price, 1987; Laguna and Lasanta, 2001).
Tourism development has both positive impacts, such as job creation and income
raise, as well as negative ones, especially on the environment and the society (Zhong
et al. 2011). The operation of a ski resort in an area has many benefits, such as
economic growth, improvement of services and infrastructure and the feeling of
positive psychology among the locals (Snowdon et al., 2000; Lindberg et al., 2001).
A population increase is also observed (Daumas, 1986), along with a decrease of the
average age of the population (Buckley et al., 2000; Pechlaner and
Tschurtschenthaler, 2003), since residents from nearby areas (especially young
461
people) relocate in order to take advantage of the job opportunities offered as a result
of the development of a ski resort. On the other hand, there are also consequences
such as environmental decline (Needham and Rollins, 2005), landscape change
(Pignatti, 1993), social conflicts (Tooman, 1997; Weaver and Lawton, 2001) and
cultural decline (Jamal and Getz, 1999; Billet, 2003). Moreover, special aspects of
mountain tourism, such as seasonality of visitors and environmental fragility, render
mountain areas more vulnerable compared with other tourism destinations (Geneletti
and Dawa, 2009).
While it is broadly accepted that sustainable development relies on three pillars:
economic growth, environmental protection and social progress (Gibson, 2006;
Murphy, 2012), most researchers focus on short term benefits connected to the pillar
of economy, ignoring environment and society (Drexhage and Murphy, 2010). It is
only recently that the importance of environmental protection in sustainable
development has been pointed out (Muntean and Cunglesan, 2008; Dogaru, 2013).
The environmental impact of tourism has been widely studied in countries such as
the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Australia (Pickering and Hill,
2007). In many mountain regions, the environmental impact of tourism is critical,
because of the lack of infrastructure (Singh and Mishra, 2004).
The aim of this paper is to assess the environmental impact of mountain tourism in
a ski centre in Greece, Elatochori Pierion. Although the paper focuses on the
environmental pillar of sustainability, the pillars of economy and society are also
examined.
2 Materials and Methods
Study area
The study area is Elatochori, a mountain village in Northern Greece, which gained
popularity over the last years as a mountain tourism destination. The ski resort in
Elatochori that started operating in 2001, played a crucial role in that development.
Apart from mountain tourism, the local population is involved with agriculture and
livestock breeding.
The Elatochori ski centre is located in the north-east side of Pieria Mountains. Its
distance from the second-largest Greek city (Thessaloniki) is 105 km, from Larissa
120 km and from Katerini 36 km. The altitude in the ski centre starts at 1.400 meters
and ends up at 1.975 meters. The ski centre has ten (10) slopes of 13.800 m total
length. Slope classification is presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Slope classification in Elatohori ski centre
Slope classification Number of slopes Total Length (m)
Green (Very easy) 4 6.750
Blue (Easy) 2 1.950
Red (Intermediate) 2 3.900
Snow board slope 1 500
Sledge slope 1 700
462
The ski centre has five lifts (aerial double seat, two sliding lifts and two baby lifts)
with a capacity of 1.200 persons per hour. The chalet can host 400 persons. Other
facilities include snow bars, ski learning schools, ski equipment shops, first aid, and
parking.
The ski centre facilities operate from December to March depending on the
weather conditions. The average tourist season is from 90 days to 120 days. In
Europe the “100-day rule” applies (König and Abegg, 1997; Elsasser and Bürki,
2002), meaning that a ski centre has to be open for at least 100 days per year in order
to be profitable.
Methodology
Statistical data regarding the population of the study area and CO2 emissions by
vehicles were collected from the Hellenic Statistical Authority (EL.STAT.). Pertinent
data on the Elatochori ski centre were collected from local authorities (Pierion
Municipality and Elatochori ski centre management). Indicators of tourism load
(number of tourist beds in the study area, Defert's Tourist Function Rate) are used in
order to assess the impact of mountain tourism.
The present paper is a part of a project entitled: “Sustainable development in less
favoured areas-mountainous areas”. This research project is funded under the Action
“Research & Technology Development Innovation projects (AgroETAK)”, MIS
453350, in the framework of the Operational Program “Human Resources
Development”. It is co-funded by the European Social Fund and by National
Resources through the National Strategic Reference Framework 2007-2013 (NSRF
2007-2013) coordinated by the Hellenic Agricultural Organisation "DEMETER"
(Forest Research Institute of Thessaloniki / Scientific supervisor: Dr Ioannis Spanos).
3 Results and Discussion
Mountain tourism has always been an expensive pastime. The average cost for a
four-member family that arrives in the ski centre from the nearest city of Katerini and
dines in the area is estimated at 100 €.
Indicators of tourist load refer to: a) number of tourist beds in the study area and
b) Defert's Tourist Function Rate (DTFR), first used by Defert (1967) and often used
by tourism researchers (Smith, 1995; Laguna and Lasanta, 2003).
!
DTFR = ×100 (1)
!
Where 𝑥 is the number of tourist beds and 𝑦 is the number of inhabitants in the
study area.
The first hotel in the study area was established in 1998. Since the census in
Greece is being held every ten years, the DTFR rate was used for the years 2001 and
2011 for comparison purposes.
463
Table 2. Population in the study area (Source: EL.STAT.)
Pierion Municipality 2001 2011
Population 2.547 2.085
Between the years 2001 and 2011, the population in the study area has dropped
about 22% (Table 2). Similar reduction of population is observed in many
mountainous, less favoured areas during the same period.
Table 3. Tourist indicators in the study area
Indicators 2001 2011 Percentage
DTFR 3 25 733,33%
Number of beds 86 520 504,65%
The last column indicates the raise % of each indicator in 2011, compared to 2001.
Both tourist indicators show significant increase compared with the year 2001. Only
ten years later, the Defert's Tourist Function Rate has increased by 733% and the
number of beds has increased by 505% (Table 3).
Table 4. Comparison of ski resort prices between years 2009 and 2015 (€).
Year 2009 2015
Day ticket 15 11
Day ticket (discount) 11 8
Year card 150 120
Year card (kids) 100 80
The economic crisis in Greece has affected mountain tourism as all other sectors
of Greek economy. The prices in the ski resort since the beginning of the economic
crisis (2009-2015) have dropped at a range from 20% to 25% (Table 4).
In 1998, there was only one (1) hotel in the study area with 26 bed capacity
(Tsiaras and Andreopoulou, 2015). In 2004, three years after the opening of the ski
resort, the number of the hotels raised to eleven (11). In 2009, mountain tourism in
the area reached its peak: Twenty one (21) hotels and accommodation units were
available in the area, and the total bed capacity had greatly increased (159% raise
compared to 2004).
464
100
100
Price
(€)
80
66
60
40
20
0
2009
2015
Years
Fig. 1. Comparison of the average price of a two-bed room in the hotels of the study area
between years 2009 and 2015.
Since then prices have been reduced by 34% (Fig. 1), as the economic crisis
affected the price policy of the accommodation units. A significant price drop was
deemed the only way to survive.
Gross income from touristic activities in the area is assessed around 2.000.000 €
per year. The aforementioned number was assessed by calculating the average
occupancy rate of the hotel, as well as usual patterns regarding dining, shopping etc.
The average occupancy rate per year is estimated at 30% (personal research). Gross
income was about 2 to 3 times larger before the crisis.
Table 5. Assessment of the impact of mountain tourism in the study area based on the three
sustainability pillars
Sustainability pillar 2000 2015
Economic Growth S1 +
Environmental
Protection S2 -
Social Equity S3 +-
Table 5 shows the evolution of the sustainability pillars between year 2000 (base
year) and the present situation (year 2015). In order to describe this evolution, plus
(+) and minus (-) signs are used .The economic growth of the study area generated by
tourism is obvious, although the economic crisis has affected the rate of this growth.
At the same time, an environmental decline is observed. According to Elatochori ski
centre management, more than 90% of the visitors arrive at the ski resort by car; this
was verified through personal research (Tsiaras and Andreopoulou, 2015). As a
result, the transportation of the tourists causes a major environmental pressure, due to
a high amount of CO2 emissions. Taking under consideration the average tourist
465
arrivals in the area per year, CO2 emissions are estimated at around 195-210 tn per
year (Table 6).
Table 6. Total CO2 emissions by transportation in the study area (year 2014)
CO2 Emissions Distance covered Number of cars Total emissions
195-210 g / km 50 km 20.000 195-210 tn
Total CO2 emissions by vehicles in the study area, shown in the fourth column,
are estimated by multiplying numbers in the first three columns of Table 6 (CO2
emissions*distance covered*number of cars). Average distance covered per vehicle
moving within the area is estimated at about 50 km (personal research). The number
of cars for the year 2014 has been estimated taking under consideration the average
tourist arrivals in the study area (data collected through interviews conducted with
hotel owners and the ski centre management).
Obata et al. (2005) outline the necessity to preserve the environment with the
sustainable use of resources. Therefore, the local authorities should seek measures to
reduce that number either by embracing more green ways of transport or by raising
forested area in order to absorb more CO2 emissions.
Agrotourism based business contribute to income improvement of the locals.
However, when economic enlargement is its exclusive goal there is no space for
sustainable development (Lasanta et al., 2007).
4 Conclusions
There are certain economic benefits that satisfy one pillar of sustainability (economic
growth), but at the same time, there are major environmental consequences that
affect another pillar of sustainability (environmental protection). The third pillar
(social equity) is affected in a complicated way: on the one hand people involved in
tourism based businesses are highly benefited by the ski centre and on the other
people involved in the primary sector of production are negatively affected. Taking
that into consideration, it can be concluded that the ski centre of Elatochori does not
contribute to the sustainable development of the area according to the spirit of
Brundlant Report (1987).
The economic crisis that caused the collapse of Greece economy during the last
years, has also affected the tourism in the study area. More specifically, during the
crisis eight hotels were forced to seize their function, while the number of the bed
capacity in the area has dropped in the half (51% reduction). The losses for the
tourism related business are estimated in two million euros (2.000.000 €). Tourism
related business were forced to reduce prices for their services at percentages that
vary from 20% up to 35%, compared with the prices in the year 2009 (the beginning
of the crisis).
The competitive relation between tourism and primary sector of production has
been pointed out by researchers all over Europe (Oberacher, 1995; Snowdon et al.,
466
2000). Lasanta et al. (2007) conclude that ski resorts benefit only a restricted area;
because of their negative effects in the primary sector, land management,
environment and society, the strategy of the development of mountain tourism with
the development of ski resorts is unsustainable in the medium term. A recent study
(Strom and Kerstein, 2015) provides an exception to this rule: in Ashville, North
Carolina, USA, sustainability of the tourism growth was achieved through mutual
conciliations among all the interested parties: residents, industry, local authorities,
focused on common benefits. Since sustainable development in mountainous areas is
a difficult and complex task, Tzanopoulos et al. (2011) propose a combination of
sustainability assessment and scenario analysis in order to achieve sustainable
development strategies.
Tourist destinations affect the lives of the residents both positively and negatively
at the same time (Jurowski et al., 1997). A fundamental condition for the integrated
development of mountainous areas is the correct use of the local advantages of the
area (Soutsas et al., 2006), taking in consideration the crucial role of the local society
in sustainability (Abaza and Baranzini, 2002; Uphoff, 2002). It is obvious that the ski
centre in Elatochori has a positive economic impact in the area. However, it is also
evident that it has a negative environmental impact. The local community should
decide whether the economic growth, the environmental protection and the social
equity can coexist and to what extent.
Acknowledgments. The author would like to thank the Forest Research Institute of
Thessaloniki and especially the scientific supervisor Dr. Ioannis Spanos for their
contribution in the project. Additionally the author is grateful to the management of
Elatochori ski centre and local businessmen involved in tourism sector for their
useful input.
References
1. Abaza, H. and Baranzini, A. (2002) Implementing sustainable development:
Integrated assessment and participatory decision-making processes. Edward
Elgar, Cheltenham, UK.
2. André, M. F. (1998) Depopulation, land-use change and landscape transformation
in the French Massif Central. Ambio, 27, p. 351–353.
3. Billet, P. (2003) Le contrôle de l’urbanisation dans les zones de montagne.
Bulletin d’Association de Ge´ographes Françaises, 1, p. 31–43.
4. Brundtland, G. H. (1987). Our Common Future: World Commission on
Environment and Development. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
5. Buckley, R. C., Pickering, C. M. and Warnker, J. (2000) Environmental
management for Alpine tourism and resorts in Australia. In P. M. Godde, M. P.
Price and F. M. Zimmermann (Eds.), Tourism and development in mountain
regions: 27–45. CAB International, Wallingford.
467
6. Butler, R. (1993) Tourism-an evolutionary perspective. In: Nelson, J.G., Butler,
R., Wall, G. (Eds.), Tourism and Sustainable Development: Monitoring,
Planning, Managing, Publication Series, T. 37. University of Waterloo,
Department of Geography, Waterloo.
7. Daumas, M. (1986) La redistribution géographique de la population dans les
hautes vallées montagnardes: l’exemple du val de Benasque. Revue de
Géographie Alpine, 64, p. 189–196.
8. Defert, P. (1967) Le taux de function touristique. Mise au point et critique. Les
Cahiers du Tourisme Serie-C, 5, p. 110-122
9. Dogaru, L. (2013) The importance of environmental protection and sustainable
development. Procedia- Social and Behavioral Sciences, 93, p. 1344-1348.
10. Drexhage, J. and Murphy, D. (2010) Sustainable Development from Brundtland
to Rio 2012. United Nations Headquarters, New York, USA.
11. Elsasser, H. and Bürki, R. (2002) Climate change as a threat to tourism in the
Alps. Climate Research 20, p. 253–257.
12. Geneletti, D. and Dawa, D. (2009) Environmental impact assessment of mountain
tourism in developing regions: A study in Ladakh, Indian Himalaya.
Environmental Impact Assessment Review, 29, p. 229-242.
13. Gibson, R. (2006) Beyond the pillars: Sustainability as a framework for effective
integration of social, economic and ecological considerations in significant
decision making. Journal of Environmental Assessment Policy and Management
8 (3), p. 259-280.
14. Godde, P. M., Price, M. F. and Zimermann, F. M. (2000) Tourism and
development in mountain regions. CABI Publishing, Oxon.
15. Gössling, S., Peeters, P., Ceron, J. P., Dubois, G., Patterson, T. and Richardson,
R. B. (2005) The eco-efficiency of tourism. Ecological Economics, 54, p. 417-
434.
16. Jamal, T. and Getz, D. (1999) Community roundtables for tourism-related
conflicts: The dialectics of consensus and process structures. Journal of
Sustainable Tourism, 7, p. 290–313.
17. Jurowski, C., Uysal, M. and Williams, D. R. (1997) A theoretical analysis of host
community resident reactions to tourism. Journal of Tourism Research, 36, p. 3-
11.
18. König U. and Abegg, B. (1997) Impacts of climate change on tourism in the
Swiss Alps. Journal of Sustainable Tourism 5 (1), p. 46–58.
19. Laguna, M. and Lasanta, T. (2001) El papel de la Administración en la
ampliación espacial de la oferta turística: el caso del Pirineo Aragonés. X
Coloquio de Geografía Rural (422–447). Asociación de Geógrafos Españoles,
Lérida.
20. Laguna, M., and Lasanta, T. (2003) Competing for meadows. A case study on
tourism and livestock farming in the Spanish Pyrenees. Mountain Research and
Development, 23, p. 169–176.
468
21. Lasanta, T., Laguna, M. and Vicente Serano, S.M. (2007) Do tourism-based ski
resorts contribute to the homogeneous development of the Mediterranean
mountains? A case study in the Central Spanish Pyrenees. Tourism Management,
28 (5), p. 1326-1339.
22. Lindberg, K., Andersson, T. D. and Dellaert, B. G. C. (2001). Tourism
development Assessing social gains and losses. Annals of Tourism Research, 28,
p. 1010-1030.
23. Moser, P. and Moser, W. (1986) Reflections on the Mab-6 obergurgl project and
tourism in a Alpine environment. Mountain Research and Development, 6, p.
101–118.
24. Muntean, I.O. and Cunglesan, N. (2008) Objectives of sustainable development
in the Hunedoara County. Journal of Environmental Protection and Ecology, 9
(4), p. 852-867.
25. Murphy, K. (2012) The Social Pillar of Sustainable Development: a Literature
Review and Framework for Policy Analysis. Sustainability: Science, Practice,
and Policy, 8 (1), p. 15-29
26. Needham, M. D. and Rollins, R. B. (2005) Interest group standards for recreation
and tourism impacts al ski areas in the summer. Tourism Management, 26, p. 1–
13.
27. Obata, Y., Takeuchi, K., Furuta, Y. and Kanayama, K. (2005) Research on better
use of wood for sustainable development: Quantitative evaluation of good tactile
warmth of wood. Energy, 30, p. 1317-1328.
28. Oberacher, A. (1995). Agriculture and tourism in the Alps. Conflict or symbiosis.
Forderungsdient, 43, p. 109–115.
29. Pechlaner, H. and Tschurtschenthaler, P. (2003). Tourism policy, tourism
organizations and change management in Alpine regions and destinations: A
European perspective. Current Issues in Tourism, 6, p. 508–539
30. Pignatti, S. (1993). Impact of tourism on the mountain landscape of central Italy.
Landscape and Urban Planning, 24, p. 49–53.
31. Price, M. (1987) Tourism and forestry in the Swiss Alps: Parasitism or
symbiosis? Mountain Research and Development, 7, p. 1–12
32. Singh R.B. and Mishra D.K. (2004) Green tourism in mountain regions —
reducing vulnerability and promoting people and place centric development in the
Himalayas. Journal of Mountain Science, 1, p. 57-64.
33. Smith, J. (1995) Tourism Analysis. A Handbook. Longman: Essex.
34. Snowdon, P., Slee, B., Farr, H. and Godde, P. M. (2000) The economic impacts
of different types of tourism in upland and mountain areas of Europa. In P. M.
Godde, M. P. Price and F. M. Zimmermann (Eds.), Tourism and Development in
Mountain Regions (137–145) CAB International, Wallingford.
35. Soutsas, K., Tsantopoulos, G., Arabatzis, G. and Christopoulou, O. (2006)
Characteristics of tourism development in mountainous regions with the use of
categorical regression: The case of Metsovo (Greece). International Journal of
Sustainable Development and Planning, 1, p. 32-45.
469
36. Strom, E. and Kerstein, R. (2015) Mountains and muses: Tourism development in
Ashville, North Carolina. Annals of Tourism Research, 52, p.134-147.
37. Tooman, L. A. (1997) Applications of the life-cycle model in tourism. Annals of
Tourism Research, 24, p. 214–234.
38. Tsiaras, S. and Andreopoulou, Z. (2015) Sustainable development perspectives in
a less favoured area in Greece. Journal of Environmental Protection and Ecology,
16 (1), p. 164-172.
39. Tzanopoulos, J., Kallimanis, A.S., Bella, I., Labrianidis, L., Sgardelis, S., and
Pantis, J.D. (2011) Agricultural decline and sustainable development on mountain
areas in Greece: Sustainability assessment on future scenarios. Land Use Policy,
28, p. 585-593.
40. Uphoff, N. (2002) Agroecological innovations: Increasing food production with
participatory development. Earthscan Publications, London.
41. Weaver, D. B. and Lawton, L. J. (2001) Resident perceptions in the urbanrural
fringe. Annals of Tourism Research, 28, p. 439–458.
42. Pickering, C.M. and Hill, W. (2007) Impacts of recreation and tourism on plant
biodiversity and vegetation in protected areas in Australia. Journal of
Environmental Management, 85, p. 791-800.
43. Zhong, L., Deng, J., Song, Z. and Ding, P. (2011) Research on environmental
impacts on tourism in China: Progress and prospect. Journal of Environmental
Management, 92, p. 2972-2983.
470