ABSTRACT
The village of Galtür is a small Alpine community, located 1600 m above sea level in the Paznaun valley, Tyrol. Originally a rural and agricultural settlement, the village has undergone tremendous socioeconomic and ecological changes in the last century. As elsewhere in the Eastern Alps, these changes were mainly triggered by the growing economic wealth in Europe and the onset of mass tourism in the 1950s (Bätzing, 2003). The transformation of the village into a ski and hiking resort with agriculture as a minor sideline reflects the shift from farming to service industry as the main source of income. Today, Galtür is characterized by a monostructural economy, which is based solely on tourism. However, the community has always pursued its own course and tries to keep tourist activities and infrastructure from growing uncontrollably. In 1976, the population of Galtür voted against the establishment of a glacier ski resort on Jamferner, one of their community-owned glaciers, which was a unique decision at the times and made way for a more gentle and sustainable form of tourism (Lorenz, 1999). Galtür therefore differs considerably from ski resorts like Ischgl or Sölden, whose primary goal is economic benefit (Figure 1). Geographical location of Galtür. https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9781315876573/b3a53c3d-050b-47fa-a06e-f31d7dc1913e/content/fig4_1_C.jpg" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/> (Source: ESRI)
