University of Catania, Catania, Sicily, Italy.
University of Central Lancashire, Preston, Lancashire, England, United Kingdom.
J Environ Manage. 2022 Aug 15;316:115235. doi: 10.1016/j.jenvman.2022.115235. Epub 2022 May 12.
Volcanic sites can be considered strategic areas for conservation and protection policies, but such policies may involve considerable costs However, not only are volcanic sites often integral to the tourism industry and, hence, of potential significant benefit to local economies in general; entrance fee income from tourists can also contribute to management and conservation costs in particular. Nevertheless, seasonal variations in tourism demand, resulting in over-and under-tourism situations, may impact on both the level of income generated as well as on the sustainability of sites Therefore, based on a case study of Mt Etna in Italy, this study considers establishing appropriate entry fee levels for volcano areas. First, a logit model is applied to the relevant socio-demographic and site-specific variables. The entrance fees are estimated on visitors' willingness to pay and demand elasticity. Applying contingent valuation method (CVM), two groups of tourists (high and low season visitors) are identified and surveyed, with each group demonstrating different willingness to pay and elasticity levels. Rather than applying a single fee, different entrance fees for the two groups are found to generate a higher level of revenue for the park's economic equilibrium. In addition, the different entrance fees offer the potential to mitigate the peak effects of over-tourism and support demand during under-tourism, with clear sustainability consequences. The results, which confirm four hypotheses set about Mt. Etna, could facilitate decision-makers in determining a feasible balance between management costs, tourism demand characteristics and protection commitments.
火山地区可以被视为保护和政策的战略区域，但这些政策可能涉及相当大的成本。然而，火山地区不仅通常是旅游业的组成部分，因此对整个地方经济通常具有潜在的重要利益；游客的门票收入也可以特别有助于管理和保护成本。然而，旅游需求的季节性变化，导致过度和不足的旅游情况，可能会对收入水平以及对地点的可持续性产生影响。因此，本研究以意大利埃特纳火山为例，考虑为火山地区建立适当的入场费水平。首先，应用逻辑回归模型对相关的社会人口和特定地点变量进行分析。根据游客的支付意愿和需求弹性来估算门票价格。应用条件价值评估法（CVM），对两组游客（旺季和淡季游客）进行了识别和调查，每组游客的支付意愿和弹性水平都不同。研究发现，与单一门票价格相比，为两组游客设定不同的门票价格可以为公园的经济平衡带来更高的收入。此外，不同的门票价格为缓解旅游高峰期的过度旅游效应提供了潜力，并在旅游淡季时支持需求，具有明确的可持续性影响。研究结果证实了关于埃特纳火山的四个假设，可以为决策者在管理成本、旅游需求特征和保护承诺之间确定可行的平衡提供便利。
