Renewable Energy and Tourism Webinar Wednesday, August 29 th 10:00am - 11:00am EST

Transcription

1 The Center for Sustainable Tourism is proud to present our Renewable Energy and Tourism Webinar Wednesday, August 29 th 10:00am - 11:00am EST Putting the Wind in Your Sales: Wind Energy and Tourism

2 The Center for Sustainable Tourism at East Carolina University is an interdisciplinary research center comprised of many diverse university academic and non-academic units. The goals of the Center are to promote and support the adoption of sustainable practices throughout the tourism industry whether business, government or individual traveler behaviors. This is done through graduate level education, academic research, and community engagement and outreach.

3 Session 1: Tourism and Recreation Impacts of Wind Energy Featuring Guest Expert Dr. Craig Landry, Associate Professor of Economics at East Carolina University, Assistant Director of the Center for Natural Hazards Research and Associate Scientist with the Institute for Coastal Science & Policy Session 2: Wind Energy as an Educational Tool at Tourism Attractions Featuring Guest Expert Mike Remige, Director, Jennette s Pier NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Aquariums Division

4 The Center for Sustainable Tourism Renewable Energy and Tourism Webinar Tourism and Recreation Impacts of Wind Energy Dr. Craig Landry, Associate Professor of Economics at East Carolina University Assistant Director of the Center for Natural Hazards Research Associate Scientist with the Institute for Coastal Science & Policy

5 Wind Turbines and Coastal Recreation Demand Craig E. Landry Appalachian Energy Center ECU Dept. of Economics & Center for Sustainable Tourism

6 Wind Power Large upfront costs, low operating costs Cost stability No carbon residuals, but other impacts Places with high wind energy potential (mountaintops and coastal waters) are also associated with scenic vistas Local concerns Recreation and tourism Property values

7 Impact of Diminution of View Amenities on Coastal Recreation Beach visitation data collected for 16 northern CAMA counties (telephone) Class 1: Coastal Carteret, Hyde, Dare, Currituck Class 2: Adjacent Beaufort, Bertie, Camden, Chowan, Craven, Gates, Hertford, Pamlico, Pasquotank, Perquimans, Tyrell, Washington

8 Survey Data Telephone Survey (N=361, 31% response rate) Opinions on wind energy & climate change Recreation Demand Data: past and planned beach trips Estimate recreation demand model to measure lost consumer surplus Internet Survey (N=118, 32% response rate) Beach site choice data; examine the influence of: Distance Congestion level Parking fees Offshore wind farms Sound wind farms

9 Data Quality 71% concerned about global warming 82 % feel man-made pollution has played a role 90% support offshore wind energy development 53% feel wind farms could have positive impact Evidence of sample selection bias? Data adjusted using weights to correct for under-representation of lower income and education levels. Still a possibility of selection based on unobserved factors

10 Visitation Effects What if wind turbines were present at the beach they planned to visit next? 92% would visit the same beach 4% would visit different beach / not go to beach Recreation Demand 9.09 NC beach trips in the previous year 9.75 NC beach trips planned for next year 9.77 NC beach trips w/ wind farms at all 31 major beach destinations

11 Recreation Demand Model # trips Tourist transit expenditures: create economic impact Avg. trips Consumer Surplus: a measure of net economic value to users D (current) Avg. TC Travel cost # trips = f(tc, sub_tc, income, demographics, beach conditions)

12 Recreation Demand Model # trips Avg. trips (f) Avg. trips (f, w) Lost Consumer Surplus Avg. trips (c) D (future) D (future, wind turbines) D (current) Avg. TC Travel cost

13 Recreation Demand Model Lost consumer surplus = measure of economic cost associated w/ offshore wind development at all 31 major NC beach destinations. Household consumer surplus: Current: $793 per year Projected: $934 per year w/ turbines: $924 per year Annual loss = $10 per household per year (~1%)

14 Trip Choice with Visualization Deciding on a destination for Outer Banks beach trip. We lay out a set of alternatives that differ by: Congestion Parking Fees Travel Distance Wind Turbines in the sound Wind Turbines in the ocean Each subject made six choices among three destinations, with no trip option Analysis of choice data allows us to evaluate individual tradeoffs

15 Visualization of Beach Conditions No wind turbines Ocean Sound

16 Visualization of Beach Conditions Wind turbines 1 mile away Ocean Sound

17 Visualization of Beach Conditions Wind turbines 4 miles away Ocean Sound

18 Example: Choice Set No Trip (stay home) Trip A Trip B Trip C People on the Beach: People on the Beach: more than 200 People on the Beach: less than 40 Distance from home: 120 miles Distance from home: 90 miles Distance from home: 60 miles Parking Fee: $0 Parking Fee: $4 Parking Fee: $8 Ocean View: 1-mile wind farms Ocean View: 4-mile wind farms Ocean View: no wind farms Sound View: 4-mile wind farms Sound View: no wind farms Sound View: 1-mile wind farms

19 Choice Experiment Results Willingness to Pay to reduce congestion, avoid parking fees, and avoid wind farms WTP = $62 to avoid wind farms 1 mile offshore 4 miles offshore did not have an impact on choice Wind farms in the sound had no influence on choice

20 Conclusions Results suggest that coastal wind development could have only minor impacts on the value of tourist experience Ocean developments in close proximity to the shoreline have negative impact Focus on coastal residents Possible sample selection bias Shortcoming: visitors from significant distance probably more important for tourist economy

21 Thanks! Research supported by: Appalachian Energy Center ECU Center for Sustainable Tourism Visualization support provided by NC Renaissance Computing Initiative (RENCI) Questions/Comments?

22 The Center for Sustainable Tourism Renewable Energy and Tourism Webinar Wind Energy as an Educational Tool at Tourism Attractions Mike Remige, Director, Jennette s Pier, NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources, Aquariums Division

23 Wind Energy as an Educational Tool at a State Attraction August 29, 2012 Mike Remige, Pier Director

24 Early Outer Banks Tourism

25 Harnessing the Power of the Wind

26 Jennette s Pier: an Oceanfront Destination

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29 Goals Maintain Public Access to the recreational fishery and the beaches Be Self-Supporting by operating completely from generated revenue Offer a public platform for relevant Scientific Research (Ocean Energy) Provide Public Education opportunities that support our mission Demonstrate Sustainable Design with a state attraction (LEED Platinum)

30 Attraction- a quality or feature of something that evokes interest "I tried to design this facility so that just by seeing the pier and walking on the pier it becomes a teaching tool. In this case it teaches people about appreciation for the environment and conservation and the way of sustainable building." ---Chip Hemingway, BMH Architects

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33 What is STEM? A federal initiative encouraging the integrated teaching of SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY. ENGINEERING, and MATH by incorporating them into the Common Core curriculum supported by 48 states. The integration of these disciplines encourages the holistic development of critical thinking and problem-solving skills to prepare a highly-skilled workforce for an innovation economy.

34 Public Education Program- Wind Energy 1. Science of energy production (primary and secondary sources) 2. Electricity and the grid 3. Role of wind energy 4. Basic wind turbine design 5. Constructing an efficient turbine (hands-on activity)

35 Vital Statistics- the First Year 320,000 pier visitors 2800 school children in wind energy programs 70,000 kwh of energy produced from wind

36 Dr. Craig Landry Associate Professor, Department of Economics at Eat Carolina University Associate Scientist, Institute for Coastal Science & Policy (ICSP) Assistant Director, Center for Natural Hazards Research (CNHR) Mike Remige Director Jennette's Pier at Nags Head NC Department of Environment and Natural Resources Aquarium Division Alex Naar Director of Outreach Center For Sustainable Tourism Office of Engagement, Innovation, and Economic Development East Carolina University

37 We would like to thank all of our partners: National Renewable Energy Lab NC Division of Environmental Assistance and Outreach Media Sponsorship by Miles Media

38 Free White Papers & Research: eg: Green Publishing for Destinations State of American Traveler Research

39 For more information on the Renewable Energy in Tourism Initiative, please visit We will be posting the slides from our presenters, speaker contact information, and a recording of this webinar at And to join our mailing list, visit

40 Thank you for participating in our Renewable Energy and Tourism Webinar Please Join us in November for Our Next Webinar: Energy Efficiency at Sports and Outdoor Venues: A Winning Combination