Editing Alps (section)

== Tourism ==
{{further|List of national parks in the Alps|Tourism in Austria|Tourism in France|Tourism in Germany|Tourism in Italy|Tourism in Switzerland|}}
[[File:Bolsterlang Hörnerbahn.jpg|thumb|View of the ski resort [[Bolsterlang]], [[Oberallgäu]], Bavaria, Germany]]
[[File:Cortina d'Ampezzo - Comune di Cortina d'Ampezzo - 2023-09-27 15-35-37 030.jpg|thumb|A ski resort in [[Cortina d'Ampezzo]], [[Veneto]], Italy]]
[[File:Karl Schranz, Lauberhorn 1966.jpg|thumb|[[Karl Schranz]] running the [[Lauberhorn]] in 1966]]

The Alps are one of the more popular tourist destinations in the world with many resorts such as [[Oberstdorf]], in Bavaria, [[Saalbach-Hinterglemm|Saalbach]] in Austria, [[Davos]] in Switzerland, [[Chamonix]] in France, and [[Cortina d'Ampezzo]] in Italy recording more than a million annual visitors. With over 120&nbsp;million visitors a year, tourism is integral to the Alpine economy with much of it coming from winter sports, although summer visitors are also an important component.<ref name="Bart">Bartaletti, Fabrizio.[http://alpsknowhow.cipra.org/background_topics/alps_and_tourism/alps_and_tourism_chapter_introduction.html "What Role Do the Alps Play within World Tourism?"] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090427175833/http://alpsknowhow.cipra.org/background_topics/alps_and_tourism/alps_and_tourism_chapter_introduction.html |date=April 27, 2009}}. ''Commission Internationale pour la Protection des Alpes''. CIRPA.org. Retrieved August 9, 2012</ref>

The tourism industry began in the early 19th century when foreigners visited the Alps, travelled to the bases of the mountains to enjoy the scenery, and stayed at the spa-resorts. Large hotels were built during the [[Belle Époque]]; [[Rack railway|cog-railways]], built early in the 20th century, brought tourists to ever-higher elevations, with the [[Jungfraubahn]] terminating at the Jungfraujoch, well above the eternal snow-line, after going through a tunnel in Eiger. During this period winter sports were slowly introduced: in 1882 the first [[figure skating]] championship was held in [[St. Moritz]], and downhill skiing became a popular sport with English visitors early in the 20th century,<ref name="Bart" /> as the first ski-lift was installed in 1908 above Grindelwald.<ref>Beattie (2006), 198</ref>

In the first half of the 20th century the Olympic Winter Games were held three times in Alpine venues: the [[1924 Winter Olympics]] in Chamonix, France; the [[1928 Winter Olympics]] in St. Moritz, Switzerland; and the [[1936 Winter Olympics]] in [[Garmisch-Partenkirchen]], Germany. During World War II the winter games were cancelled but after that time the Winter Games have been held in [[1948 Winter Olympics|St. Moritz (1948)]], [[1956 Winter Olympics|Cortina d'Ampezzo (1956)]], [[Innsbruck]], Austria (1964 and 1976), [[Grenoble]], France, (1968), [[Albertville]], France, (1992), and [[2006 Winter Olympics|Turin (2006)]].<ref>[http://www.olympic.org/olympic-games "21 Past Olympic Games"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171031180752/https://www.olympic.org/olympic-games |date=October 31, 2017}}. Olympic.org. Retrieved August 13, 2012</ref> In 1930, the ''Lauberhorn Rennen'' (Lauberhorn Race), was run for the first time on the [[Lauberhorn]] above [[Wengen]];<ref>[http://www.lauberhorn.ch/en/about/history/history Lauberhorn History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120813074247/http://www.lauberhorn.ch/en/about/history/history |date=August 13, 2012 }}. Retrieved August 14, 2012.</ref> the equally demanding [[Hahnenkamm, Kitzbühel|Hahnenkamm]] was first run in the same year in [[Kitzbühl]], Austria.<ref>[http://www.hahnenkamm.com/hkr-history.html "Hahenkamm Races Kitzbuhel"] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110219001756/http://www.hahnenkamm.com/hkr-history.html |date=February 19, 2011 }}. HKR.com. Retrieved August 13, 2012,</ref> Both races continue to be held each January on successive weekends. The Lauberhorn is the more strenuous downhill race at {{cvt|4.5|km}} and poses danger to racers who reach {{cvt|130|km/h}} within seconds of leaving the start gate.<ref>[http://www.lauberhorn.ch/en/Rennen/overview/downhill Lauberhorn Downhill] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304142035/http://www.lauberhorn.ch/en/Rennen/overview/downhill |date=March 4, 2016}}. Retrieved August 14, 2012.</ref>

During the post-World War I period, ski lifts were built in Swiss and Austrian towns to accommodate winter visitors, and summer tourism continued to be important. By the mid-20th century the popularity of downhill skiing increased greatly as it became more accessible and in the 1970s several new villages were built in France devoted almost exclusively to skiing, such as [[Les Menuires]]. Until this point, Austria and Switzerland had been the traditional and more popular destinations for winter sports, and by the end of the 20th century and into the early 21st century, France, Italy, and Tyrol began to see increases in winter visitors.<ref name="Bart" /> Since the 1980s tourism expansion and easy global access generate grave concerns regarding the loss of traditional Alpine culture and many uncertainties about sustainable development.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Briand |first1=F. |last2=Dubost |first2=M. |last3=Pitt |first3=D. |last4=Rambaud |first4=D. |title=The Alps - A system under pressure |date=1989 |publisher=IUCN |isbn=2-88032-983-3 |page=128 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/232298139}}</ref> As a likely result of climatic change, the number of high altitude ski resorts and piste km is in decline since 2015, with snow-making machines installed at many sites.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://marmotamaps.com/de/blog/skigebiete-der-alpen-die-entwicklung/ |title=Ski resorts of the Alps: the development, 'Marmota Maps' |date=November 15, 2019 |access-date=17 October 2021 |archive-date=October 17, 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211017225402/https://marmotamaps.com/de/blog/skigebiete-der-alpen-die-entwicklung/ |url-status=live }}</ref>