Developing Economic Policy Instruments for Tourism Management in Protected Areas.
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| Title: | Developing Economic Policy Instruments for Tourism Management in Protected Areas. |
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| Authors: | Siltanen J; Environment and Natural Resources, School of Social Sciences and School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland. jks16@hi.is., Petursson JG; Environment and Natural Resources, School of Social Sciences and School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland., Cook D; Environment and Natural Resources, School of Social Sciences and School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland., Davidsdottir B; Environment and Natural Resources, School of Social Sciences and School of Engineering and Natural Sciences, University of Iceland, Reykjavík, Iceland. |
| Source: | Environmental management [Environ Manage] 2025 Dec 01; Vol. 76 (1), pp. 22. Date of Electronic Publication: 2025 Dec 01. |
| Publication Type: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
| Journal Info: | Publisher: Springer Verlag Country of Publication: United States NLM ID: 7703893 Publication Model: Electronic Cited Medium: Internet ISSN: 1432-1009 (Electronic) Linking ISSN: 0364152X NLM ISO Abbreviation: Environ Manage Subsets: MEDLINE |
| Imprint Name(s): | Publication: New York Ny : Springer Verlag Original Publication: New York, Springer-Verlag. |
| MeSH Terms: | Tourism* , Conservation of Natural Resources*/economics , Conservation of Natural Resources*/legislation & jurisprudence , Parks, Recreational*/economics , Parks, Recreational*/legislation & jurisprudence, Iceland ; Humans ; Recreation |
| Abstract: | Competing Interests: Compliance with ethical standards. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval: Iceland’s Scientific Ethics Committee does not require an approval for interviews in social sciences. An informed consent form informing participants of the study and their rights was obtained from all participants prior to the interviews. Protected areas (PAs) are the main strategy for area-based nature conservation, and they provide opportunities for rural development through tourism and recreation. Economic policy instruments help PAs to manage commercial activities by regulating visitor flows and providing revenues to strengthen infrastructure and oversight. We employ Icelandic National Parks as a case study of the challenges, opportunities and constraints associated with introducing a concession system to regulate commercial tourism. We summarize and review how the legal framework is used and conduct 21 semi-structured interviews to elicit PA manager and business stakeholder views regarding concessions. Our study answers the literature calling for more studies on concessions and is novel in the context of the Nordic rights to roam. Our results show Iceland has introduced a comprehensive, legally-binding framework for concessions. Stakeholders generally agree that commercial activities need to be regulated, and concession revenues are an important source of financing for the PAs. However, concessions have been introduced primarily with economic motives, and the main challenge is to integrate holistic sustainability into concession contracts with social and environmental criteria. Overlaps and conflicts in the legal regulatory framework contribute to this challenge and could be initially addressed by clear policies providing guidance and interpretation. (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.) |
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| Grant Information: | PhD grant Háskóli Íslands |
| Contributed Indexing: | Keywords: Concessions; National parks; Policy instruments; Protected area management; Rural development; Sustainability; Tourism |
| Entry Date(s): | Date Created: 20251201 Date Completed: 20251201 Latest Revision: 20251201 |
| Update Code: | 20251202 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00267-025-02324-w |
| PMID: | 41326706 |
| Database: | MEDLINE |
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Nájsť tento článok vo Web of Science | Abstract: | Competing Interests: Compliance with ethical standards. Conflict of interest: The authors declare no competing interests. Ethics approval: Iceland’s Scientific Ethics Committee does not require an approval for interviews in social sciences. An informed consent form informing participants of the study and their rights was obtained from all participants prior to the interviews.<br />Protected areas (PAs) are the main strategy for area-based nature conservation, and they provide opportunities for rural development through tourism and recreation. Economic policy instruments help PAs to manage commercial activities by regulating visitor flows and providing revenues to strengthen infrastructure and oversight. We employ Icelandic National Parks as a case study of the challenges, opportunities and constraints associated with introducing a concession system to regulate commercial tourism. We summarize and review how the legal framework is used and conduct 21 semi-structured interviews to elicit PA manager and business stakeholder views regarding concessions. Our study answers the literature calling for more studies on concessions and is novel in the context of the Nordic rights to roam. Our results show Iceland has introduced a comprehensive, legally-binding framework for concessions. Stakeholders generally agree that commercial activities need to be regulated, and concession revenues are an important source of financing for the PAs. However, concessions have been introduced primarily with economic motives, and the main challenge is to integrate holistic sustainability into concession contracts with social and environmental criteria. Overlaps and conflicts in the legal regulatory framework contribute to this challenge and could be initially addressed by clear policies providing guidance and interpretation.<br /> (© 2025. The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Science+Business Media, LLC, part of Springer Nature.) |
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| ISSN: | 1432-1009 |
| DOI: | 10.1007/s00267-025-02324-w |