HOW HIGH ARE THE ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF OUTDOOR RECREATIONAL USE FROM THE NEWLY DESIGNATED PROTECTED LANDSCAPE AREA?

Abstract

In addition to preserving biodiversity, protected landscape areas provide many ecosystem services to society, including the wide range of opportunities for outdoor recreation. A number of studies have examined the recreation value and other economic benefits of protected areas designated in the past, however less work has been devoted to assessing the economic effects in the case that a large-scale protected area is newly established. This article aims to estimate the change in recreation demand and the resulting regional economic benefits for the Soutok region, i.e. the area where the Morava and Dyje rivers meet, if a protected landscape area of 139 km2 is declared here. In the study, the methods of visitor monitoring with non-market valuation methods and input-output analysis are combined to measure the shift in recreation demand and the resulting economic effects induced by this change.