Coastal landscape and the hedonic price of accommodation

Abstract

The impact of climate change on tourism has been examined in terms of changes in a destinations climate; the impact of ancillary effects such as sea-level rise has been neglected. In this study the role that coastal and other landscape features have on the attractiveness of tourist destinations is examined using the hedonic price technique. The average price of accommodation in the coastal districts of Schleswig-Holstein is explained using landscape and other characteristics of these districts. As the western coastline of Schleswig-Holstein is protected by dikes, adaptation measures as well as natural coastal features are represented in the data set. The analysis shows that an increase in the length of dikes in a given district would result in a reduction in the average price of accommodation. An increase in the length of open coast results in an increase in the average price of accommodation. The impact of sea-level rise is examined through an assessment of the financial losses in the accommodation sector through the modification of the coastline caused by the construction of different coastal protection measures. It was found that, purely in terms of accommodation revenues, beach nourishment rather than dike construction is the more beneficial adaptation measure.accommodation price, hedonic price technique, coastal landscape, climate change, adaptation