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Added value from tourism in Swiss parks

Many rural and regional economies have been affected by decreasing availability of jobs in the forestry and agri­ cultural sectors. This has led to increases in commuter numbers and depopulation. The negative impact of such structural change may be mitigated by the wide range of activities offered by parks and protected areas, which may lead to the creation of jobs in many sectors. This potential is one of the premises of the Swiss Parks Ordin­ ance (Federal Council 2007), whose explicit purpose it is both to conserve natural habitats and landscapes, and to encourage sustainable regional business activities.

Factsheet: The economic impact of tourism in Swiss parks

In this context, touristic activities can be highly relevant as their economic benefit can be spread across numerous sectors. Moreover, social or political resistance to tools that promote tourism tends to be low and the implemen­ tation of such tools requires relatively little technological and financial input. What is usually less clear, however, is the actual economic impact that park­related tourism may be able to create in regional economies. This Fact Sheet intends to close this information gap by providing recommendations that have been retrieved from various existing value­added studies.

Authors: Florian Knaus, Prof. Dr Norman Backhaus
Pages: 6

Categories

  • Biosphere
  • Nature parks
  • Tourism