Matías González

The Adoption of Environmental Innovations in the Hotel Industry of Gran Canaria

Managing environmental attributes of the tourist product is increasingly important for the success of tourist destinations. The authors consider how producers manage environmental attributes in the hotel industry. An environmental quality index is formulated, based on the possible environmental measures a representative unit can adopt, given the technological frontier. Several aspects of environmental quality within the hotels influence are considered, such as the management of energy, water, solid waste, noise, and urban landscape. These measures can have effects on costs and demand. Thus their adoption represents an opportunity for firms to raise net benefits. Empirical evidence comes from a sample of hotels and apartments in Gran Canaria. Results show that the most frequently adopted environmental measures are those involving low investment and operational cost reductions. The environmental quality index is significantly determined by the category of the facilities, production capacity, integration into a larger management chain, the environmental perception of managers, and the preoccupation of clients with the environment.

Consumption process and multiple valuation of landscape attributes

Abstract Environmental valuation can be seen as a process which evolves as individuals reflect on their consumption experience. In this paper we consider how environmental values could change as the subject has reached the end of the consumption process. A split sample comparison is conducted for estimating the values tourists give to a set of landscape attributes. The first subsample was taken on-site as subjects were on a tour contemplating the landscape of the island of Gran Canaria (Canary Islands). The second subsample was contacted at the airport when individuals were about to leave the tourist enclave. Since landscapes are complex environmental goods, we utilize and compare a multiple contingent valuation (CV) approach with the stated preference approach of contingent ranking. The results show that the influence of the consumption experience depends on the valuation method and the consideration of interaction effects in the model. The valuation functions were not stable across both sites for most of the models considered and some of the attributes changed their values between the two points of the consumption process. Interaction effects were more relevant with the contingent ranking model, suggesting that CV is a more limited approach in a context of multiple valuation.

Economic welfare, the environment and the tourist product life cycle.

The tourist product life cycle model predicts different stages of the evolution of the industry in a particular region, focusing on the number of tourists visiting over a period of time. In this paper, we consider the role of environmental degradation and the decline in natural capital as determinants of the tourist product life cycle and the implications for economic welfare. It is shown that the optimal trajectory of tourist consumption increases when the stock of natural capital is high and environmental attributes are preserved, and tend to decline when the tourist product has reached a low level of natural capital, which is defined as the stock of natural resources giving value to the tourist product. The main implication is that the evolution of demand as represented by the number of tourists does not need to match economic welfare. In addition, the evolution of the tourist product life cycle converges to a stationary solution characterized by positive levels of tourist consumption and natural capital. The results have implications for the optimal management of the number of tourists and the environmental attributes of tourist destinations. Optimal taxation can play a role in financing the maintenance of the optimal level of natural capital in the stationary state.

Tourists' Evaluation of Climate Change Risks in the Canary Islands: A Heterogeneous Response Modelling Approach:

This paper compares the differences between the monetary measures of willingness to accept and willingness to pay (WTP) for changes in climate change risk. The empirical evidence comes from tourists in the Canary Islands. The modelling approach utilizes a Bayesian mixture of normal distribution model that allows the authors to consider heterogeneity across both WTP and willingness to accept (WTA) question formats. The results show that the WTP for lower risks is lower than the WTA higher risks, and that the disparity between these measures depends on the market segments, the specific climate change risk and the characteristics of the individuals.

An Evaluation of Endogenous Sustainable Development Planning for the Rural–Urban Environment in Gran Canaria

ABSTRACT Urban developments can transform adjacent rural areas by degrading their natural resource base and environmental values. In this paper we provide evidence on the implementation of an endogenous sustainable development plan for the rural–urban environment in the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. The objective was the generation of endogenous development in the rural areas by implicating the local population in developing activities in line with natural values and the recuperation of traditional cultures. At the same time, urban societies were expected to benefit from the preservation and availability of these rural environments. The plan was implemented in a large rural valley located between adjacent urban areas. The valley represents an opportunity for urban dwellers to benefit from a large rural park in the urban environment for leisure and cultural activities. The overall accomplishment of the plan was evaluated and contrasted with the benefits to the urban population, which were also measured with a discrete choice experiment. The results highlight that the principal objectives failed because of the lack of political determination to promote the participatory channels that would lead to the preservation of natural resources in a dynamic process of social change.

Los orígenes del apoyo presupuestario en la evolución de la ayuda contemporánea

Budgetary support dates back to relatively recent times, when the interest in this type of aid emerged during the last decade. However, budgetary support, seen as a fund transfer from a country or organization to other recipient country to help them with their national budgets, appeared earlier. In this sense, this paper reviews this type of aids from the 50s —when the decolonization process started— to our days. Since that decade some key elements have appeared and they have led to the concept of budgetary support as it is known today. The main elements are the fight against poverty —as the main goal—, the change of approach about the conditionality of aids and the valuation of the trust-based relationships between benefactors and recipients. CITE AS: Wood, M, Boza, J., Gonzalez, M., De-Leon-Ledesma, J. (2015). Los origenes del apoyo presupuestario en la evolucion de la ayuda contemporanea. Iberoamerican Journal of Development Studies, 4 (2): 50-78