The current and future value of nature-based tourism in the Eastern Arc Mountains of Tanzania

Published Date
June 2014, Vol.8:75–83, doi:10.1016/j.ecoser.2014.02.006

Author 

Julian Bayliss ^a,k,,

Marije Schaafsma ^b,k

Andrew Balmford ^a,k

Neil D. Burgess ^c,d,e,k

Jonathan M.H. Green ^f,k

Seif S. Madoffe ^g,k

Sana Okayasu ^h,k

Kelvin S.-H. Peh ^a,k

Philip J. Platts^a,i,k

Douglas W. Yu ^i,j,k

aConservation Science Group, Department of Zoology, University of Cambridge, Downing Street, Cambridge CB2 3EJ, UK

bCentre for Social and Economic Research on the Global Environment, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR47TJ, UK

cWorld Wildlife Fund, 1250 24th Street NW, Washington, DC 20037, USA

dCenter for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate, Department of Biology, University of Copenhagen, Denmark

eUnited Nations Environment Programme – World Conservation Monitoring Center, 219 Huntington Road, Cambridge CB3 ODL, UK

• fWoodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
• gFaculty of Forestry and Nature Conservation, Department of Forest Biology, Sokoine University of Agriculture, Chuo Kikuu, Morogoro, Tanzania
• hNatural Resources and Ecosystem Services Area, Institute for Global Environmental Strategies (IGES), 2108-11 Kamiyamaguchi, Hayama, Kanagawa 240-0115, Japan
• iYork Institute for Tropical Ecosystems (KITE), Environment Department, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
• jSchool of Biological Sciences, University of East Anglia, Norwich, Norfolk NR47TJ, UK
• kState Key Laboratory of Genetic Resources and Evolution, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Kunming, Yunnan 650223, China

Received 13 September 2013. Revised 5 February 2014. Accepted 19 February 2014. Available online 14 March 2014. 

Highlights

• Nature-based tourism is measured by calculating the present value of Producer Surplus (PS), based on the number of visitor bed-nights.
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  Tanzanian visitors to the EAMs are positively predicted by high population density and negatively by close proximity to major roads.
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  International visitors to the EAMs are positively predicted by higher accommodation quality and close proximity to forest.
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  Under a scenario of no-forest-loss, the present value of PS from nature-based tourism is ~US$1.9 million (discount rate of 15%).
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  Under a business-as-usual scenario the present value of PS from nature-based tourism is US$1.6 million (discount rate of 15%).

Abstract

The financial benefit derived from nature-based tourism in the Eastern Arc Mountains (EAMs) of Tanzania has never been assessed. Here, we calculate the producer surplus (PS) related to expenditure on accommodation in the EAMs. This estimate is based on the number of visitor bed-nights collected from a representative sample of hotels, coupled with spatially explicit regression models to extrapolate visitor numbers to unsampled locations, and adjusted to account for how far visits were motivated by nature. The estimated annual PS of nature-based tourism is ~US$195,000. In order to evaluate the future impact of different forest management regimes on PS over a 25 year period, we compare two alternative scenarios of land use. Under a ‘hopeful expectations’ scenario of no forest loss from protected areas, the present value of PS from nature-based tourism is ~US$1.9 million, compared with US$1.6 million under a ‘business-as-usual’ scenario. Although the value of nature-based tourism to the EAMs is lower than that generated by Tanzania׳s large game reserves, these revenues, together with other ecosystem services provided by the area, such as carbon storage and water regulation, may enhance the case for sustainable forest management.

Keywords

Nature-based tourism

Eco-tourism

Tanzania

Forest conservation

Valuation

Ecosystem services

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  Corresponding author.

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