Abstract
Alpine mountains represent one of the most important tourist destinations in the world, constituting approximately 3.1% of the global tourism market when considering the tourist flows coming from abroad. While there may be numerous factors that motivate tourists to choose rural areas, an important role is played by the opportunity to visit well-conserved landscapes and uncontaminated natural areas. The purpose of this study was to make a monetary valuation of the social benefits generated by the adoption of three measures of the Rural Development Plan (RDP) of Veneto (Italy) aimed specifically at enhancing the recreational usability of the mountain territory. In this regard, a discrete choice experiment (DCE) was applied for the economic valuation, and a qualitative survey was used to collect the opinion of respondents related to the measures to protect the meadows and mountain hiking trails. According to the DCE estimates, on average, the benefits due to the conservation of the existing meadows and pastures was equal to €851 per hectare, those due to the conservation and improvement of the trail network were €12,260 per km, and the benefits due to the recovery of the meadows and pastures of uncultivated and abandoned areas for naturalistic purposes amounted to €6852 per hectare. Comparing the estimates obtained with the expenditure incurred by the RDP to finance the three actions considered in our DCE, it can be seen that the benefits are considerably higher than the costs, especially with regard to the conservation of paths and the recovery of abandoned areas for naturalistic purposes.
Highlights
Alpine mountains represent one of the most important tourist destinations in the world, constituting approximately 3.1% of the global tourism market when considering the tourist flows coming from abroad [1]
Mountain tourist flows give rise to a thriving tourist economy, and it can be estimated that approximately 15% of the employment in the alpine area is linked to tourism [1]
In which the aims of the research were explained, the interviewees were asked to indicate by a score from 1 to 5 their degree of agreement or disagreement with a series of statements relating to the landscape and the trail network
Summary
Alpine mountains represent one of the most important tourist destinations in the world, constituting approximately 3.1% of the global tourism market when considering the tourist flows coming from abroad [1]. Mountain tourist flows give rise to a thriving tourist economy, and it can be estimated that approximately 15% of the employment in the alpine area is linked to tourism [1]. In a study carried out in the Veneto Region (Italy) in 2001, it was found that in the mountains of the Veneto Region there were approximately 9 million recreational events [2]. It has been found that the number of recreational events that affected Veneto mountain in the period from spring to early autumn in 2015 would have reached nearly 13 million, reflecting the growing demand for intact environmental areas with great
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
