Abstract

HERNANDEZ-TREJO, Víctor; AVILES-POLANCO, Gerzaín  and  ALMENDAREZ-HERNANDEZ, Marco A.. Economic Benefits of Recreational Services Provided by the Aquatic Biodiversity of the National Park Archipielago Espiritu Santo. Estud. soc [online]. 2012, vol.20, n.40, pp.157-177. ISSN 0188-4557.

The National Park Archipielago Espiritu Santo has been a site of conservation interest to federal agencies, research organization and NGOs, the interest reside on its wide biodiversity. Conservation actions were manifested in the late 70s through the first decade of the 21st century. Actions like include it into UNESCO World Natural Heritage Sites. Actually is the protected area with the major number of visitors in Baja California Sur, about 30 thousand, both nationals and foreigners. To demonstrate that the economic benefits are positive to visitors that perform recreational ecotourism, this research proposed to value the aquatic biodiversity of the site using the travel cost method by type of visitor. It is noted that there are different determinants that motivate a visit to the site for both domestic and foreign tourists. The estimates of individual consumer surplus or willingness to pay for access the site are 288 and 8 dollars for foreign and domestic tourist. The main point displayed by the research is that foreign visitors perceive a greater benefit for visiting the site than domestic tourist.

Keywords : economic valuation; travel cost; aquatic biodiversity; ecosystem services.

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