Tourism in the Stelvio National Park goes as far back as the 17th Century. With its high peaks and summits, the Ortler Cevedale Mountains proved to be a magnet even for the earliest mountaineers. Nowadays, mountain tourism makes a significant contribution to the economy of the Stelvio National Park.

The boom in tourism brought significant economic benefits to the local population, stemming the flow of the population away from the mountain villages. Currently, the trend is toward “soft tourism”, practiced in a way that preserves the natural resources. The delicate ecosystem in the Stelvio National Park must be conserved for tourists, mountaineers, the local inhabitants and, last but not least, for posterity. The basis for sustainable tourism in this Alpine nature reserve is the development of a range of instruments that protect the environment while attracting sufficient numbers of visitors, which is vital to the local economy.