The Economic Value of Water and Ecosystem Preservation

However, due to the lack of consistent and complete data, it is difficult to
quantify the economic impact of ecotourism on the San Antonio Bay region.
Currently, comprehensive data on the number of people that come to visit the
region for ecotourism purposes does not exist hampering the estimate of their
economic impact. Despite these difficulties in measuring ecotourism production
and impact, existing evidence indicates that ecotourism is playing an important
role in the local economy.
While the ecotourism industry is growing, the Bay’s fragile estuarine
ecosystem is facing pressure from other economic activities. Potentially, the
largest problem that threatens the overall health of the Bay is a marked change
of natural freshwater inflow that it receives. The increased pressure on both
surface water and groundwater resources upstream by agricultural production,
industry, and a rapidly growing urban population in San Antonio has altered the
timing and volume of river inflow to the Guadalupe estuary. A large increase or
decrease of incoming freshwater can affect “fish spawning, shellfish survival, bird
nesting, seed propagation, and other seasonal activities of fish and wildlife
(Environmental Protection Agency, 2005).” This delicate estuarine system is
deteriorating because upstream water users rarely consider the water needs of
an ecosystem.
Travel Cost Method
The Travel Cost Method was used to estimate the value of freshwater inflows
on the eco-tourism sector operating in the San Antonio Bay area. The Travel
Cost Method uses actual expenditure data to estimate a ‘value’ for the natural
resource services which support the ecotourism service that is consumed. The
Travel cost method yields a maximum estimate of willingness-to-pay for the
ecosystem services provided by freshwater inflows. This measure is termed by
economists as ‘consumer surplus.’ Consumer surplus is a monetary measure
calculated as the difference in what a consumer is willing to pay for a given good
and the price they actually have to pay.
For the Travel Cost Method, the market price for ecotourism is equated to the
actual travel costs borne by the consumer. The consumer surplus is then
attributed to the (non-market) ecosystem services supporting the tourism
experience. That is, on average the consumer surplus is the value of the
economic benefit that ecotourists receive from the ecosystem services
supporting ecotourism. The measure answers the question over what the current
value of inflows are in support of ecotourism.
The data was disaggregated by Texas residents and non-residents. This was
done as it appeared as if some respondents reported travel costs that included
general costs for travel to Texas instead of solely costs for the daily nature trip.
The economic analysis has shown that eco-tourism has significant economic
value in the San Antonio Bay. The Travel Cost Method analysis showed that the
average visitor (who resided in Texas) experienced a consumer surplus of $273
dollars per visit. The average reported expenditure per Texas resident was $231.
The consumer value is the economic benefit received in excess of actual travel
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