nep-tur New Economics Papers
on Tourism Economics
Issue of 2007‒08‒14
eight papers chosen by
Antonello Scorcu
University of Bologna

  1. The Impact of the EU-US Open Skies Agreement on International Travel and Carbon Dioxide Emissions By Karen Mayor; Richard S.J Tol
  2. The Impact of the UK AviationTax on Carbon Dioxide Emissions and Visitor Numbers By Karen Mayor; Richard S.J Tol
  3. Explaining High Economic Growth in Small Tourism Countries with a Dynamic General Equilibrium Model. By Carmen Álvarez-Albelo; Raúl Hernández-Martín
  4. New Zealand Outdoor Recreation Benefits By Pamela Kaval; Richard Yao
  5. Comparing the Travel Cost Method and the Contingent Valuation Method – An application of Convergent Validity Theory to the Recreational Value of Irish Forests By Karen Mayor; Susan Scott; Richard S.J. Tol
  6. Irish Sustainable Development Model (ISus): Literature Review, Data Availability and Model Design By Joe O'Doherty; Karen Mayor; Richard S.J Tol
  7. Lo sviluppo sostenibile ed il turismo By E. Zabbini
  8. Modelli spaziali dellÕevoluzione dei territori turistici By E. Zabbini

  1. By: Karen Mayor (Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)); Richard S.J Tol (Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI))
    Abstract: We use a model of domestic and international tourist numbers and flows to estimate the impact of the EU-US Open Skies agreement that is to take effect in March 2008. The Open Aviation Area will result in increased competition between transatlantic carriers and consequently falls in the cost of flights, therefore we look at the change in visitor numbers from the US into the EU and corresponding CO2 emissions. We find that passenger numbers arriving from the US to the EU will increase by approximately 1% and 14% depending on the magnitude of the price reductions. This increase in passenger numbers does not however result in a corresponding rise in emissions as arrivals into other countries from the US fall by a comparable amount. The number of tourist arrivals from the US to countries outside of the EU will fall and overall emissions would then increase by a maximum of 0.7%. If we assume that domestic holidays and foreign holidays are close substitutes these effects are strengthened and US passengers switch from domestic trips to foreign destinations as airfares converge.
    Keywords: International tourism, open skies agreement, carbon dioxide emissions
    Date: 2007–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp191&r=tur
  2. By: Karen Mayor (Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)); Richard S.J Tol (Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI))
    Abstract: We use a model of domestic and international tourist numbers and flows to estimate the impact of the recent and proposed changes in the Air Passenger Duty (APD) of the United Kingdom. We find that the recent doubling of the APD has the perverse effect of increasing carbon dioxide emissions, albeit only slightly, because it reduces the relative price difference between near and far holidays. Tourist arrivals in the UK would fall slightly. Tourist arrivals from the UK would fall in the countries near to the UK, and this drop would be only partly offset by displaced tourists from the UK. Tourist numbers in countries far from the UK would increase. The proposal of the Conservative Party to exempt the first 2,000 miles (for UK residents) would decrease emissions by roughly the same amount as abolishing the APD altogether – but tourist arrivals in the UK would not rise. These results are reversed if we assume that domestic holidays and foreign holidays are close substitutes. If the same revenue were raised with a carbon tax rather than a boarding tax, emissions would fall with higher taxes.
    Keywords: International tourism, carbon dioxide emissions, boarding tax, United Kingdom
    Date: 2007–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp187&r=tur
  3. By: Carmen Álvarez-Albelo (Grup de Recerca en Economia del Benestar (CREB), Department of Economic Analysis, University of La Laguna); Raúl Hernández-Martín (Department of Applied Economics, University of La Laguna)
    Abstract: This paper shows that tourism specialisation can help to explain the observed high growth rates of small countries. For this purpose, two models of growth and trade are constructed to represent the trade relations between two countries. One of the countries is large, rich, has an own source of sustained growth and produces a tradable capital good. The other is a small poor economy, which does not have an own engine of growth and produces tradable tourism services. The poor country exports tourism services to and imports capital goods from the rich economy. In one model tourism is a luxury good, while in the other the expenditure elasticity of tourism imports is unitary. Two main results are obtained. In the long run, the tourism country overcomes decreasing returns and permanently grows because its terms of trade continuously improve. Since the tourism sector is relatively less productive than the capital good sector, tourism services become relatively scarcer and hence more expensive than the capital good. Moreover, along the transition the growth rate of the tourism economy holds well above the one of the rich country for a long time. The growth rate differential between countries is particularly high when tourism is a luxury good. In this case, there is a faster increase in the tourism demand. As a result, investment of the small economy is boosted and its terms of trade highly improve.
    Keywords: High growth, Small tourism countries, Terms of trade, Luxury good, Dynamic general equilibrium.
    JEL: F43 O33 O41
    Date: 2007–07
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:xrp:wpaper:xreap2007-06&r=tur
  4. By: Pamela Kaval (University of Waikato); Richard Yao (University of Waikato)
    Abstract: Millions of people participate in outdoor recreation activities in New Zealand every year. Economic recreation studies in the country concentrate mostly on market values. Market values only present part of the outdoor recreation benefit; while non-market values represent the other part. In this study, a meta-analysis is used to determine the non-market benefit of recreation. Results show non-market benefits from outdoor recreation to be over five billion dollars annually, exceeding market benefits of approximately four billion. New Zealand non-market values were then compared to those from a United States recreation database and results were favourably similar.
    Keywords: non-market valuation; outdoor recreation; consumer surplus; New Zealand
    JEL: Q26 Q51
    Date: 2007–08–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:wai:econwp:07/14&r=tur
  5. By: Karen Mayor (Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)); Susan Scott (Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)); Richard S.J. Tol (Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI))
    Abstract: The purpose of this study is to check the monetary value of the recreational use of Irish forests using two different valuation methods on the one dataset – the Travel Cost Method and the Contingent Valuation Technique – and in doing so test convergent validity, i.e. whether they are consistent with each other. It is found that convergence cannot be established with this data. The Willingness-to-Pay for entrance responses are stationary and tend to cluster around IR£1 per adult equivalent per trip. The TCM results of consumer surplus, which should be the same as WTP, are more variable depending on which sample is analysed and range between IR£2.38 and IR£5.95 per adult equivalent per trip. No correlation between these two variables was found. It seems that there are problems in getting people to state their true WTP. This is possibly due to a misinterpretation of the question by respondents as well as a tendency to revert to a common number. It is also likely that respondents used their WTP answers to make a political statement against the expansion of forestland using agricultural land. Finally, forests in Ireland are regarded as public goods and consequently there exists a stance among users that access to them should be free of charge, which might explain the large number of protest bids.
    Keywords: Contingent Valuation, Travel Cost Model, Forest Recreation.
    Date: 2007–04
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp190&r=tur
  6. By: Joe O'Doherty (Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)); Karen Mayor (Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI)); Richard S.J Tol (Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI))
    Date: 2007–02
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:esr:wpaper:wp186&r=tur
  7. By: E. Zabbini
    Date: 2007–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:584&r=tur
  8. By: E. Zabbini
    Date: 2007–03
    URL: http://d.repec.org/n?u=RePEc:bol:bodewp:585&r=tur

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