Economic valuation of climate change impacts on ecotourism in Rekawa coastal wetland in Sri Lanka: Application of stated preference techniques

The research presented in this thesis has focused on the economic valuation of climate change impacts on ecotourism in a coastal wetland using three different methods of stated-preference techniques to provide answers to different research questions related to coastal tourism and climate change. Rekawa coastal wetland in Southern Sri Lanka was taken as the empirical context to examine the identified research questions. The first issue studied in this thesis concerns the balance between conservation goals and the development of ecotourism in coastal wetland management. Our findings provide empirical evidence suggesting that ecotourism is not only an economically viable industry but also a good ecological policy instrument. This since economic benefits arising from ecotourism can be used for environmental protection and biodiversity conservation by ensuring habitat protection for a broad set of species. We have proved that well-managed sustainable tourism in and around coastal wetlands can bring important economic and ecological benefits. The second research question attempts to provide a regional perspective on intended future visitation behavior of both domestic and foreign tourists to a coastal wetland under climate change impacts explained by a climate change induced environmental index based on IPCC scenarios. The climate change induced environmental index that we developed, was found to be a significant determinant of intended visitation behavior of tourists. The final part of the research refers to tourists’ preferences and willingness to pay for restoration of mangroves to reduce the climate change impacts on ecotourism. Our findings highlight the importance of mangrove protection as an adaptation strategy to minimize the climate change impacts. Tourists’ preferences and willingness to pay for mangrove protection support the formation of an environmental protection fund and use of it in different mangrove protection measures. If increasing impacts of climate change are unattended in a timely fashion with site-specific adaptation measures, future ecotourism in coastal wetlands could be at risk