Valuating the effects of beach erosion to tourism revenue. A management perspective

Coastal erosion, besides its various environmental impacts, poses a significant threat to coastal economies where the market for tourism services is a key factor for economic growth. So far, a common practise in evaluating the economic implications of beach erosion is to address the cost of coastal protection measures, abstaining from any revenue losses considerations. The present paper departs from this approach by relating the beach erosion vulnerability with the expected land loss and the relevant value from economic activities. The study employs a combined environmental and economic approach along the geographical space. The value of the eroded beach, capitalized in revenues from tourism business, is estimated through hedonic pricing modelling where the beach value is determined by its width and the tourism business located there. The study aims to provide realistic cost-benefit scenarios for the relevant stakeholders and policymakers so as to prioritize and allocate costs and benefits from a “beach governance” point of view, grounded on the Integrated Coastal Management (ICM) framework. The empirical investigation presented considers the highly touristic coastal city of Rethymnon on the island of Crete as the study area.