Bermuda׳s balancing act: The economic dependence of cruise and air tourism on healthy coral reefs

van Beukering, Pieter, Sarkis, Samia, van der Putten, Loes and Papyrakis, Elissaios (2015) Bermuda׳s balancing act: The economic dependence of cruise and air tourism on healthy coral reefs. Ecosystem Services, 11. pp. 76-86. ISSN 2212-0416

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Abstract

Although Bermuda has to date managed to achieve equilibrium between tourism and coral reef conservation, this delicate balance may be threatened by the growth and changing face of the tourism industry. This may result in negative impacts on the coral reefs and services provided by this valuable ecosystem. The reef-associated value to Bermuda׳s tourism industry was determined, distinguishing between the added value of cruise and air tourism. Economic valuation techniques used were the travel cost method, the net factor income method, and the contingent valuation method. Results show that coral reef value to tourism in Bermuda provides an average annual benefit of US$406 million. Although, cruise ship tourism has been responsible for more than half of the total number of visitors in Bermuda, cruise ship tourist expenditures directly benefiting the island׳s economy amount to only 9% of air passenger expenditures. Moreover, the producer surplus for air visitors is twofold that of cruise ship passengers. Despite this low added value of cruise ship tourism in Bermuda, there is a strong drive to accommodate the ever-larger ships built by the cruise industry. Several options have been proposed for the upgrading and re-aligning of existing shipping channels to enable safe and smooth passage; these may lead to environmental impacts, which may in turn affect reef-associated tourism revenue to the island. This study recommends the integration of Bermuda׳s coral reef value into Cost Benefit Analyses of proposed channel upgrades compared to the “business as usual” scenario.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	coral reefs,tourism,economic valuation
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Social Sciences > School of Global Development (formerly School of International Development)
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Climate Change Faculty of Social Sciences > Research Groups > Globalisation and CSR
Depositing User:	Pure Connector
Date Deposited:	19 Dec 2015 07:14
Last Modified:	21 Oct 2022 01:19
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/55780
DOI:	10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.06.009

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