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The broad aim of this paper is to look at the relationship between terrain and conflict. Using the opportunity and willingness framework, it argues that there are some long established physical factors, which have been related to the terrain of conflict, but that there are also some equally long established factors that are nonphysical. This latter group includes the notion of a “mountain people,” which is described as being fierce, uncivilized, and resistant to authority. Such arguments may have some foundation, but they are also based on a strong history of determinism and indeed scientific racism. The paper also looks at the “what is a mountain?” debate and argues that this question is entirely misleading for conflict analysis. It is hoped that conflict researchers will be careful whenever they encounter the word “mountain.”

This chapter analyses residents’ perceptions of mountain destinations. The aim is to develop a scale for assessing residents’ mountain images. An extensive literature review and insights from an empirical study of 315 residents of the Serra da Estrela in Portugal, the Alps in France, Austria and Switzerland, and the Peaks of Europe in Spain show that mountain images held by local people refer to the dimensions: mystic/sacred, historic-cultural life; health and affective image. Results were obtained by both content analysis of open-ended questions and by a quantitative approach based on scale items identified as belonging to specific dimensions in the literature review, whose relevance was confirmed through a confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL. Discussion is focused on theoretical and practical implications of findings and limitations are also presented.

Given the failure to save the Aral Sea, new ways of thinking are needed to avert future disasters unleashed by climate change or other events. The threat to glaciers calls attention to the people of mountain regions who are the stewards to these “water towers in the sky.” Mountain partnerships are forming across the globe to help build public recognition and support for the unique vulnerabilities and assets of such regions to rapid climate change. A parallel Mountain Coalition would reach down the mountain to form relationships between upstream and downstream countries. Such linkages are a viable approach to pursue common cause and avoid conflict while helping to address and limit negative climate consequences.

Mountaineering and related activities are increasingly becoming popular and are accompanied by an increase in medical incidents. Emergency operations in mountainous terrain are time-critical and often pose major logistical challenges for rescuers. Drones are expected to improve the operational performance of mountain rescuers. However, they are not yet widely used in mountain rescue missions. This paper examines the determinants that drive the behavioral intention of mountain rescuers to adopt drones in rescue missions.

This is a behavioral study that builds upon an extended model of the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) and investigates the relationship between individual attitudes, perceptions, and intentions for drone adoption. Original survey data of 146 mountain rescuers were analyzed using moderated ordinary least squares (OLS) regression analysis.

Results indicate that the behavioral intention to use drones in mountain rescue missions is driven by the expected performance gains and facilitating conditions. Favorable supporting conditions and experience with drones further moderate the relationship between performance expectancy and behavioral intention. The effects for effort expectancy, social influence, and demonstrations were not significant.

Rescue organizations and stakeholders are recommended to consider the identified determinants in the implementation of drones in emergency logistics. Drone manufacturers targeting mountain rescue organizations are advised to focus on operational performance, provide sufficient support and training, and promote the gathering of practical experience.

A tailored-model that provides first empirical results on the relevance of personal and environmental factors for the acceptance of drones in emergency logistics is presented.

This paper aims to present a legal study addressing the way in which tourism development and planning in mountain areas can be adapted to climate change issues. It gives examples of attempts to regulate such development by law. Recent legislation in France has created new obligations targeted at ski resort managers. Urban planning and tourism development are key topics of the new French Mountain Act (law of 28 December 2016). The law moves back and forth between two goals, economic development and the protection of nature, and it is sometimes difficult to understand the general coherence of the text. Nevertheless, two significant new legal elements can be highlighted. Planning policies in mountain areas have to take climate change issues into account in the process of authorising major tourism building projects. Moreover, for the first time, the law requires obsolete ski lifts to be dismantled when they are no longer in use. Of course, although these measures are only legally theoretical at the moment, they represent important progress and are initially relevant to many ski resorts affected by global warming, especially in low-altitude mountain areas. Many of these are already experiencing a lack of snow, and a new economic model needs to be drawn up.

This paper is based on a review of French laws having an effect on mountain areas’ adaptation to climate change.

This paper presents two innovations included in the new French Mountain Act (law of 28 December 2016).

This paper underscores problems emanating from global warming in mountain areas. Some ski resorts are facing a lack of snow. The main issue is to anticipate the fact that many ski lifts, or other structures or buildings created for the snow economy, could become obsolete. Legal tools can provide a solution by forcing administrations or operators to be cautious when making decisions relating to new tourist investments, and to dismantle obsolete ski lifts.

This paper aims to examine tourists’ preferences for package holidays offering different bundles of activities at a winter mountain destination. A winter mountain destination is usually chosen for snow sports, particularly skiing, but increasingly more tourists want to fully exploit their holiday opportunity with an authentic and comprehensive experience of the place. After collecting qualitative data on how tourists spend their typical day, quantitative research is conducted to segment the demand on the basis of tourists’ preferences for bundles of activities undertaken during a winter mountain holiday.

The study uses a mixed method. Two focus groups are included to understand how tourists spend their time at a winter destination; results are then used to identify the components of the holiday, which are then combined in eight packages using an orthogonal array. A questionnaire is administered to a sample of 273 tourists at a well-known mountain destination to measure their preference for different packages. Results are analyzed using factor analysis, conjoint analysis and cluster analysis.

The most significant findings are as follows: winter mountain holidaying is a highly segmented market. Even at a mountain destination strongly associated with skiing, there are many tourists who do not ski and spend their time doing something else; food and beverage, and all their related activities, are at the top of all tourists’ interests, and passionate skiers very highly rate the experience of tasting, eating, understanding and buying local food; and there are four segments of winter mountain holiday tourists who show very differentiated interests for the different activities that can be experienced at a mountain location.

This paper considers what lies beyond sport at winter mountain destinations, and it reveals new possibilities for configuring bundles of activities to attract different segments of tourists.

This paper aims to formulate assumptions on home sharing users’ sensitivity toward sustainability in mountain areas and define the sustainability indicators that may be used to search for home-based accommodation in mountain areas.

The paper is based on a literature review of key terms: mountain tourism, peer-to-peer accommodation and sustainability indicators.

Tourists in mountain areas are more likely to be sensitive toward sustainability than in urban areas, so they are likely to expect home sharing websites to provide sustainability criteria for selecting their accommodation.

Home sharing platforms should offer to mountain tourists the possibility to search for and assess home-based accommodation using sustainability criteria.

Most studies on peer-to-peer accommodation were designed in urban areas. The authors state that in mountain areas, tourists are more sensitive toward sustainability and would therefore be more inclined to consider sustainability in their search for a home-based accommodation.

Previous mountain tourism research addressed economic, environmental, social and political impacts. Because limited studies evaluated visitors’ perception of their experience, this study aims to examine the tangible and intangible visitor experience in a Tyrolean alpine tourist attraction.

The study adopted Klaus and Maklan’s (2012) customer experience model, suggesting that customers base their experience perception on the quality of product experience, outcome focus, moments of truth and peace-of-mind. Their model was used to validate the impact on overall customer experience quality at the mountain attraction through conducting a structured survey with 207 face-to-face interviews on-site.

The results of the confirmatory factor analysis did not confirm the four-dimensional structure, probably due to the differences between mountain tourism experience and the mortgage lending experience in the original study. Instead, principal component analysis suggested a different dimensional structure of components that were arbitrarily named as functional, social, comparative and normative aspects of the visitors’ experience.

The results are based on a sample in a given period of time, using convenience sampling. While the sample size satisfied the data analysis requirements, confirmatory factor analysis would benefit from a larger sample size.

Consumer experience dimensions while visiting a mountain attraction may not be concrete or objective, and consequently may yield different types of attributes that influence behavior.

The social exchange theory could explain relationships between visitors and service providers and their consequences. Attraction managers should increase benefits for visitors and service providers to enhance their relationships, and thus experience.

The study explored the applicability of an existing experiential consumption model in a mountain attraction context. The findings introduce a revised model that may be applicable in other tourist attractions.

Within the past 20 years hiking and backpacking have enjoyed rapid growth among Americans as favorite outdoor activities. From 1965 to 1977 the number of hikers almost tripled, from 9.9 million to 28.1 million, while national forest visitor days among hikers and mountaineers increased from 4 million in 1966 to 11 million in 1979. Accompanying this growth in interest has been a boom in books about the sport. These include both “how‐to‐do‐it” volumes and guides to specific geographical areas. Each year brings another spate of books, yet to this compiler's knowledge no bibliography of hiking guides to the Rocky Mountains, one of North America's premier outdoor regions, has yet been attempted. This bibliography is an effort to correct that situation.

This paper discusses the notion of authenticity and the role of local creatives in the place branding process based on a case study of Mtns Made, a brand for the creative industries in the Blue Mountains of Sydney, Australia. This paper aims to examine the development, implementation and management of a place brand from the ground-up and explore the implications for a situated place branding practice.

The concept of brand culture was used as a theoretical lens to view place branding. A qualitative case study approach was taken, incorporating the collection of primary and secondary documents, observation of online platforms and real-world events, field notes and personal reflection from an insider position.

The findings of this study suggest that local creatives can and have played a central role in place branding. The study also illustrates a model for place branding that centres on stakeholder participation in an ongoing process.

Local culture and creativity are largely viewed as assets for place branding; this paper draws attention to the agency of local creatives in the place branding process. This study offers three pillars of place brand authenticity and establishes a framework for place brand analysis based on a branding design strategy.