Partners and International Organizations
(English)
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AT, BE, CH, DE, DK, ES, FI, FR, IE, IL, IT, NL, NO, PL, PT, RO, SE, SI, SK, UK
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Abstract
(English)
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Recreation is one of several services forests provide to society. The recreational use of forests has effects on regional economies. The regional economic impacts resulting from the recreational use of forests are a positive externality of forests (e.g. quietness, air quality) as well as a positive externality of forest use and forestry (e.g. tourist infrastructure such as paths, benches and signs). These regional economic impacts are considered to be an externality because they are effective outside of forests and with actors such as hotels and restaurants which do not contribute for the production of those services. The research project quantifies the recreational use of forests by means of regional economic concepts and methods. The empirical analysis consists of two parts. Firstly, the expenditures of visitors are identified by means of standardised interviews. Secondly, the visitors' affinity to forests is investigated by means of a conjoint analysis. The research areas are the Sihlwald close to the city of Zurich and the Bergell (Val Bregaglia) in Southern Grisons. Empirical findings show the importance of the landscape for destination choice. 39 % of all forest visitors in the holiday region Bergell value the landscape as most important factor for destination choice. In the Sihlwald, a local and regional recreation area, 54 % of all visitors judge the landscape as most decisive. 35 % (in the Bergell) and 52 % of the visitors (in the Sihlwald) can be regarded as 'true' forest visitors. Not only they are landscape enthusiasts, but they also prefer landscapes where forests are an important or the primary landscape element. These persons create a regional added value of 1,4 Mio. CHF in the Bergell in the period of the study (June 2008-May 2009). The added value generated by forest tourism defined in a narrower sense in the Sihlwald region amounts to 0,4 Mio. CHF.
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