Tourism

from Manuel Antonio National Park in Costa Rica is not captured in entrance fees. Willingness to pay (WTP) for entrance fees from international tourists was estimated at US$ 12 (compared with a US$ 6 actual entrance fee) and US$ 6 for national tourists (compared with an actual fee of US$ 2). Furthermore, it is estimated that the average value of coral reef opportunities for recreation and tourism is almost US$ 68,500 per hectare per year in 2007 values, while it could reach up to more than US$ 1 million (TEEB 2010). The maximum monetary value of ecosystem services for tourism, per hectare per year, has been estimated for coastal systems (US$ 41,416), coastal wetlands (US$ 2,904), inland wetlands (US$ 3,700), rivers and lakes (US$ 2,733) and tropical forests (US$ 1,426) (TEEB 2010).

Potential for local development and poverty reduction Making tourism more sustainable can create stronger linkages with the local economy, increasing local development potential. Of particular and recognised importance (Hall and Coles 2008) are: purchasing directly from local businesses, recruiting and training local unskilled and semi-skilled staff, entering into neighbourhood partnerships to make the local social environment a better place to live, work and visit for all, and ability to improve the local natural environment within its areas of direct and indirect influence (Ashley et al. 2006). The move toward more sustainable tourism has been shown in a number of destinations to enhance this local development potential through several means:

1. Its ability to harness biodiversity, landscape and cultural heritage available in developing countries can play a major role in enhancing incomes and employment opportunities;

2. Tourism is a relatively labour-intensive sector traditionally dominated by micro and small enterprises with activities particularly suited for women and disadvantaged groups;

3. A tourism product is a combination of different activities and inputs produced by many sectors: enhanced spending by tourists can benefit agriculture, handicrafts, transport, water and waste management, energy efficiency and other services;

4. As tourism development at destinations requires investment in facilities such as roads, water supply, and energy, it improves the basic common infrastructure facilities required for development of other sectors and improvement of quality of life (Bata 2010); and

5. Tourism employs more women and young people than most other sectors: providing economic benefits and independence to women is very important in terms of supporting child development and breaking the cycle of poverty.

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