The Regional Economic Impact of Tourism and Recreation in National Parks

Although regional economic impact studies stop a long way short of providing economic evaluations of alternative uses of open space, they are valuable in quantifying tangible contributions of recreation and tourism to local economic activity. Such studies might be vital in supporting the case for conservation and national parks. Regional economic impact studies predict changes in output, income, and employment stemming from visitor expenditures. A review of the quantitative findings of twenty-nine such studies shows a surprising commonality in regional multiplier estimates in the range 1.25–1.89. This is despite wide diversity in the location, context, and methodology of the studies. The second section of the paper is a case study conducted in Cooloola National Park, Australia. Problems in measuring visitor expenditures are discussed in some detail, as it is argued that inaccuracies in this phase of research may be more significant than those arising from multiplier estimation. Markedly different impacts of day-trippers, campers, and commercial tour passengers were found in this area as a result of varying expenditures by visitors and their place of purchase. Campers are typically fully provisioned and contribute little to local business in comparison with commercial tour passengers who patronise local accommodation establishments. Park managers, by controlling access and use densities, choosing facilities and park infrastructure, and supervising visitor activities have a significant influence on the economic impact of a park. Capital investments and maintenance expenditures will also have economic significance to local employment creation and therefore to local economies and their politicians.