Responsible Val di Fassa

Val di Fassa is today at a crossroads: it either continues along the route of the seasonal holiday village with uncontrolled tourist flows, or invests in a model that enhances the local community and guarantees environmental, economic, and cultural sustainability. Residents are determined to invest in tourism that focuses on quality and not quantity, reducing overcrowding and creating an area where people can live and work all year round.  

Lengthy discussion involving hoteliers and community representatives has led to the proposal to aim for a "15-45" model by 2040: to reach 15,000 inhabitants and put a ceiling of 45,000 simultaneous tourist presences, i.e. a ratio of one to three, instead of the current one to six.  

Concerned by the increasing number of young people who are being forced to leave their land due to the unaffordable prices of real estate, as well as basic necessities, it is the inhabitants themselves who are working to create cooperatives or associations to combat the phenomenon. This is the case, for example, of the initiative 'A house for those who use it', launched in Moena in 2024 by a group of residents to give those who want to live and work in the valley a chance to stay, collaborating in synergy with property owners to guarantee affordable housing solutions. The essential concept is a shift from a place that is consumed to one that is lived, aware that only by preserving the identity of the valley and its inhabitants is it possible to offer a quality welcome to visitors.  

Mobility and flows 

Another central theme is mobility: the public transport integrated system Brt Bus Transit, with buses on dedicated lanes, must be implemented. Carefully constructed without affecting undeveloped land, it offers a viable alternative to the private car, greatly improving urban mobility and reducing traffic, pollution, and travel time. The implementation of this new transport system is linked to the 2026 Winter Olympics.

The authorities are also working in synergy with the Tourist Board to improve the reliability of the skibus service and make travel over the passes more sustainable and efficient. 

There is also a real commitment to disestablishing seasonal flows with events and activities concentrated in spring and autumn, and mountain huts and hotels staying open until October or November. Working with local operators and institutions, the Val di Fassa Tourist Board is committed to developing a sustainable and diversified tourist offering, capable of attracting visitors all year round and reducing pressure during peak periods, thus improving residents’ quality of life and tourists’ experience. 

Environmental Protection 

Environmental protection is a priority: given that our very lives depend on biodiversity, we need to encourage the creation and enhancement of protected areas, for example as part of the Natura 2000 Network, protecting valley and mountain ecosystems while generating new opportunities for skilled jobs in the environmental sector.  

In addition, leveraging communication campaigns, accessible information and the capillary, continuous efforts of tourist operators and other organisations, Val di Fassa is committed to promoting conscious, informed enjoyment of the mountains that respects the local nature, from trees to animals, flowers and mushrooms, and is also attentive to safety.  

Mountaineering and adventure remain part of the valley’s deep-rooted tradition, the prerogative of those for whom the mountains are a life-long passion and, aware of the risks and complexity of the peaks, agree to respect nature as they walk. The culture of the high mountains is promoted and protected as an essential component of this region’s identity, but also as a bridge between different cultures and between a spirit of adventure and the need for continuous reflection on both ourselves and our relationship with rocks, the ice, and the sky.  

There are places that have a right to remain inaccessible, wrapped in their mystery, and others that will be there, close at hand, in the scent of hay or the quiet of an alpine lake, in the welcome of a good mountain hut and the silence of a path through the pines. The mountain experience is for all, while remaining different for each of us. 

From volume to value 

This assumption of responsibility is therefore strongly felt by a community that reaffirms how the future of the territory is both an individual and collective responsibility. Each person in their own role has the right and the duty to envision the growth and improvement of their land and the responsibility to make this vision a reality.

After all, sustainability is not only expressed in technical terms or by certification, it stems from education, awareness and active citizenship.  Who we are, our identity, this is the basis for self-reinvention and deciding who we want to become. The concept 'from volume to value' is key: Ladin culture and traditions, the green of the forests, the white of the snow and the blue of the sky, lifetime passions for those who hold them in their hearts and souls, can and must also be the pride of the future.  

What are the best ways to make Val di Fassa an example of social and environmental responsibility and at the same time a welcoming tourist destination open to the world?  The need for citizens to play a leading role in the choices that affect valleys, towns and mountains become more and more evident every day, and the entire community asks to be recognised at local, regional and national level in defining perspectives and operational lines for a new model of tourism and land management. 

Val di Fassa is certainly not alone in facing these challenges: Nicolò Weiss, director of the Val di Fassa Tourist Board, recalls that the Alpine arc, with 14 million inhabitants, sees 120 million tourists every year, to which must be added an estimated 100 million hikers. The Alps now account for 43% of global winter mountain tourism.  

Nonetheless, Val di Fassa is “under special surveillance” precisely because of its fame and the resulting soaring numbers of tourists. Many are observing this example carefully: the responsibility of an truly responsible tourism approach is therefore towards the citizens and the region’s natural balance, but also towards all those who may see Val di Fassa as a winning model to imitate and replicate.  A challenge that is not easy, yet possible; one that will play out in the determination of organisations and communities, backed by the active participation of those who come as guests and who, in addition to a piece of their heart, can also leave ideas, respect, and responsibility in these mountains.