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Socio-economic and environmental effects of eco-tourism

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  • Saavedra, S

Abstract

Eradicating poverty and halting deforestation are two of the Sustainable Development Goals. Eco-tourism is considered a win-win strategy that can increase income and preserve forests. However, there are no well-identified impact evaluations of both variables at the same time. Seventy-six municipalities in Colombia were randomly assigned to either a control group or a treatment group that received ecotourism promotion. I estimate the socio-economic and environmental effects of nine months of treatment using an ANCOVA specification that controls for baseline individual outcomes. In treated municipalities, I find an increase of 30% in the number of tourists and 16% in the number of workers. However, there are no statistically significant effects on business profits, poverty, or household income. At the same time, I do find a reduction of 100% of deforestation alerts around treated eco-tourism sites. These results illustrate the importance of economic opportunities for local communities in order to preserve forests.

Suggested Citation

  • Saavedra, S, 2020. "Socio-economic and environmental effects of eco-tourism," Documentos de Trabajo 18487, Universidad del Rosario.
    • Handle: RePEc:col:000092:018487
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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Eco-tourism; Poverty; Deforestation; Colombia;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • Q56 - Agricultural and Natural Resource Economics; Environmental and Ecological Economics - - Environmental Economics - - - Environment and Development; Environment and Trade; Sustainability; Environmental Accounts and Accounting; Environmental Equity; Population Growth
    • Z32 - Other Special Topics - - Tourism Economics - - - Tourism and Development

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