Forest and tourism: economic evaluation and management features under sustainable multifunctionality

Abstract

The ways in which forests have been used and managed by man have been modified substantially over time in relation to both changes in the economic and social needs of communities and the visions of the world that these have embraced. In recent times, as regards the flows of utility guaranteed by forests, increasing interest has been focused on recreational aspects of the landscape. Such interest derives from both the importance, highlighted by numerous studies, of this aspect and its connection with tourism. The latter phenomenon is undergoing strong growth and is able to trigger important processes of local development. Within this framework, the present study advances some preliminary considerations on the relationships which, from the standpoint of sustainable local development, exist between possible types of tourism and alternative methods of forest management. To this end, it first explores some characteristics of the forest landscape and their possible economic evaluation, in the light of the attributes of excludability and rivalry in consumption. The study then discusses the possible economic role of tourism and the contribution that a suitable forest landscape can make to the sector’s development. Finally, it sets in context modes of forest management and alternative types of tourism development.

Keywords

• Sustainable forest management
• Tourism
• Landscape
• Public goods
• Local development