<
https://theconversation.com/protecting-biodiversity-and-making-it-accessible-has-paid-off-for-costa-rica-180301>
"After two years of pandemic lockdowns and border closures, global travel
appears to be rebounding in much of the world in 2022. Wilderness is a big
tourist attraction – but do countries that protect their natural environments
earn a payoff in tourism revenues?
Surprisingly, little research has been done on this question. Some early
studies in Africa demonstrated that people from across the world travel to find
“the big five” – elephants, rhinos, buffaloes, lions and leopards. But it
remains unclear whether people will travel to see a wide variety of plants and
animals, or just a select few iconic species.
As scholars who study conservation and ecology, we wondered whether
biodiversity – specifically, the number of species in a given place –
influenced where people chose to travel for tourism. We analyzed that question
in a recently published study focused on Costa Rica, a country that markets
itself to the world as green and biodiverse, and derives almost 10% of its
gross domestic product from tourism activities.
Our study assessed whether the opportunity to see many vertebrate animal
species mattered to tourists visiting Costa Rica, and if so, how important it
was compared with other features like hotels and beaches. We found that an
abundance of animal species alone does not drive tourism; rather, in Costa
Rica, our research shows that biodiversity needs to be paired with
infrastructure like hotels and roads that enable access to nature. Costa Rica
has shown other countries how to do this and is reaping benefits from it."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
