Abstract

LARA PULIDO, José Alberto et al. Economic spillover from Natural Protected Areas to conventional tourist destinations. Econ. soc. territ [online]. 2021, vol.21, n.67, pp.745-774.  Epub Apr 25, 2022. ISSN 2448-6183.  https://doi.org/10.22136/est20211690.

This paper examines the role of Natural Protected Areas (NPAs) as a source of economic spillovers for mass tourism destinations in Mexico. An econometric model was used to explain the number of booked rooms in tourism destinations as a function of proximity to NPAs, controlling for destination characteristics. A conservative estimate suggests that some rooms booked by foreign visitors can be explained by proximity to NPAs. Our results open public policy options, such as a compensating mechanism from conventional tourism to fund NPAs and show that they would be economically efficient and contribute to sustainability.

Keywords : positive externalities; sustainable tourism; spillover benefits; Mexico.