RT Journal Article
T1 Analyzing Beach Recreationists’ Preferences for the Reduction of Jellyfish Blooms: Economic Results from a Stated-Choice Experiment in Catalonia, Spain
A1 Nunes, Paulo A. L. D.
A1 Loureiro García, María Luz
A1 Piñol, Laia
A1 Sastre, Sergio
A1 Voltaire, Louinord
A1 Canepa, Antonio
AB Jellyfish outbreaks and their consequences appear to be on the increase around the world,and are becoming particularly relevant in the Mediterranean. No previous studies havequantified tourism losses caused by jellyfish outbreaks. We used a stated-choice questionnaire and a Random Utility Model to estimate the amount of time respondents would be willing to add to their journey, in terms of reported extra travel time, in order to reduce the risk ofencountering jellyfish blooms in the Catalan coast. The estimation results indicated that therespondents were willing to spend on average an additional 23.8% of their travel time toenjoy beach recreation in areas with a lower risk of jellyfish blooms. Using as a referencethe opportunity cost of time, we found that the subsample of individuals who made a tradeoff between the disutility generated by travelling longer in order to lower the risk of jellyfishblooms, and the utility gained from reducing this risk, are willing to pay on average €3.20 perbeach visit. This estimate, combined with the respondents’ mean income, yielded annualeconomic gains associated with reduction of jellyfish blooms on the Catalan coast around€422.57 million, or about 11.95% of the tourism expenditures in 2012. From a policy-makingperspective, this study confirms the importance of the economic impacts of jellyfish bloomsand the need for mitigation strategies. In particular, providing daily information using socialmedia applications or other technical devices may reduce these social costs. The currentlack of knowledge about jellyfish suggests that providing this information to beach recreationists may be a substantially effective policy instrument for minimising the impact ofjellyfish blooms.
PB PLOS
YR 2015
FD 2015
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10347/22000
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10347/22000
LA eng
NO Nunes P.A.L.D., Loureiro M.L., Piñol L., Sastre S., Voltaire L., Canepa A. (2015). Analyzing Beach Recreationists’ Preferences for the Reduction of Jellyfish Blooms: Economic Results from a StatedChoice Experiment in Catalonia, Spain. PLoS ONE 10(6): e0126681
NO The authors are also grateful to the European Commission, under contract agreement no. 266445 Vectors-Vectors of Change in Oceans and Seas Marine Life, Impact on Economic Sectors, for its financial support. A. Canepa was funded by CONICYT (PFCHA/Doctorado al Extranjero 4a Convocatoria, 72120016). Maria L. Loureiro would like to thank the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness for its support through project number ECO2012-39553-C04-02
DS Minerva
RD 24 abr 2026