Wilderness is a scarce resource in Europe. According to various resources, less than one percent of Europe’s land territory can be considered as wilderness. However, such areas, if well protected, serve as valuable places for tourism.
“PAN Parks Foundation has long been working with the tourism sector to prove that visitation and strict protection of wilderness can co-exist. We believe that this partnership with the ATTA will give us a tool to get broader engagement from the tourism sector and eventually prove that tourism benefits wilderness” says Zoltan Kun, Executive Director of PAN Parks.
In their new partnership, PAN Parks and the ATTA aim to join efforts to further develop awareness and involvement among responsible and eco-conscious tour operators. The newly formed partnership will support the PAN Parks tourism model which engages international tour operators in working with local entrepreneurs around Certified PAN Parks.
As a result, improved public appreciation of wilderness is achieved through increasing knowledge about the areas, decreasing conflicts between local people and protected areas and wildlife, and working with authorities to generate local revenues while also generating direct funding for wilderness protection through PAN Parks Foundation.
Both PAN Parks and the ATTA also are cooperating to increase the number of private enterprise tour operators actively involved in both organizations.
