Can nature-based tourism benefits compensate for the costs of national parks? A study of the Bavarian Forest National Park, Germany

Abstract

German national parks are increasingly under pressure from land use change and need objective information on economic values associated with different forms of use to help policy-makers resolve conflicting policy goals. To date, a complete cost–benefit analysis of a German national park has not been undertaken. This paper addresses this gap through a study from the Bavarian Forest National Park (BFNP), the oldest and best known park in Germany. The research questions are: (1) Is the designation of the national park economically justified? and (2) Can revenue from park tourism compensate for its costs? Databases used include a visitor and enterprise survey, qualitative interviews and secondary sources; analyses involved several interrelated environmental valuation methods. Results suggest that the BFNP is an economically favourable land use option under most scenarios. At national level, half of the scenarios show a benefit–cost ratio (BCR) greater than 1. At regional level the park acts as a tool for economic development, generating net monetary gains for surrounding counties, with BCRs of over 1 throughout. Tourism contributes to over 60% of the benefits and compensates for more than two-thirds of the costs in half of the scenarios discussed. Key policy implications are listed.

自然为基础的旅游优势可以弥补国家公园的费用吗？德国巴伐利亚国家森林公园的研究

德国国家公园越来越多地因为土地使用改变而又压力，它们需要经济价值的客观信息和关联不同形式的使用来帮助政策决策者解决冲突的政策目标。到现在为止对德国国家公园还没有一个完整的费用优势分析。该文章通过巴伐利亚国家森林公园（），德国一个最老的和最知名的公园的研究来解释该不足。该研究问题是：国家公园的命名是可以经济化地衡量吗？还有，公园旅游的收入能弥补公园花费吗？数据使用包括一个参观者和企业调查，定性访谈和二等数据；分析包括一些相关的环境评估方法。结论建议是一个在众多情况下，经济型受欢迎的土地使用选择。在国家层面，一半的情况显示一个大于一的优势费用率。在区域层面，公园成为了一个为经济发展的工具，用大于一的优势费用率来为周围省市产生净利润。在讨论过的一半的情况下，旅游贡献于超过的优势来弥补多于三分之二的费用。主要的政策意义在文中列出。

Keywords:

• national parks
• cost–benefit analysis
• total economic value
• tourism
• forestry
• Germany

关键词:

• 国家公园
• 费用优势分析
• 自然为基础的旅游
• 保护区域
• 经济价值
• 德国

Acknowledgements

The author would like to thank the three anonymous reviewers and the (guest) editors for their helpful comments as well as Hazel Schauss for language editing and proofreading.

Note

Notes

1. The German term Mittelgebirge refers to the many large areas of high uplands in many parts of Central Europe, which while having semi-mountainous physical and climatic conditions are not high mountains in the way in which the Alps (Hochgebirge) are. They are typically largely forested areas, with below average economic opportunities. Sixteen major German mittelgebirge regions have come together to form an association for tourism and other purposes; see www.deutschemittelgebirge.de.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Marius Mayer

Marius Mayer has a PhD from Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg, Germany, and was appointed junior professor for economic geography and tourism by the Ernst-Moritz-Arndt Universität Greifswald, Germany, in April 2013. His research interests cover the economics of protected areas as well as tourism, climate change and regional development.