New guideline - Visitors Count! Guidance for protected areas on the economic analysis of visitation
Ecosystem services provided by protected areas include important recreation values: 93 % of all natural World Heritage sites have been found to provide benefits related to recreation and tourism and 56 % to contribute to local economies through tourism. The new guidelines, 'Visitors Count! Guidance for protected areas on the economic analysis of visitation' present the methods of how to prepare economic effect analysis in a simple way to be conducted by protected area managers and other local stakeholders.
Photo: UNESCO and the German Federal Agency for Nature Conservation (BfN),
The value of protected areas is often hidden from direct view. Once managers understand the number and behaviour of visitors they host, and the revenues and costs they generate, informed decisions on management plans and tourism strategies can be made. Demonstrating the positive impact of protected areas on the local economy can lead to greater buy-in and ownership of conservation practices and places, less poaching and land encroachment, and may also help offset some of the human-wildlife conflict where it occurs.
Download the guidelines here: Visitors count! Guidance for protected areas on the economic analysis of visitation - UNESCO Digital Library
Read more about the IUCN WCPA Tourism and Protected Areas Specialist Group here: https://www.iucn.org/commissions/world-commission-protected-areas/our-work/tourism-tapas