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| Author: | Kytzia, S. Walz, A. Wegmann, M. |
| Title: | How can tourism use land more efficiently? A model-based approach to land-use efficiency for tourist destinations |
| Journal: | Tourism Management
2011 : JUN, VOL. 32:3, p. 629-640 |
| Index terms: | sustainable development tourism efficiency ecology land use models case studies Switzerland |
| Language: | eng |
| Abstract: | In densely populated Central Europe areas, numerous successful tourist destinations face the problem of reaching the limit of their growth potential. Solutions to this problem usually suggest the idea of "smart growth" based on raising efficiency in using nature for economic production (eco-efficiency). In this article, eco-efficiency is shown usable to evaluate tourism strategies on local scale based on an augmented regional input–output model, providing information on economic performance, land use (as indicator for environmental pressure), and employment. This approach is illustrated by a case study about Davos in the Swiss Alps. The model predicts that the essential drivers of land-use efficiency are: (i) the economic effect of tourists, (ii) occupancy intensity, and (iii) the density of beds covered by residential buildings and hotels. The economic consequences of increasing bed capacity depend highly on the tourist category triggering the development; this can also be used to tempt new tourist categories at the expense of tourist categories currently making inefficient use of available land. As the impact of an increased bed density per ground floor area is equivalent to the improved occupancy rate during the year, spatial planning, building design, and facility management are also important in improving land efficiency in the tourism field. |
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