The flight is valuable regardless of the carbon tax scheme: A case study of Norwegian leisure air travelers

Various countries have introduced a carbon tax on air travel. Carbon taxation is controversial in that it may negatively influence tourism demand. Still, research investigating travelers' willingness to pay (WTP) such taxes is limited. This study explores Norwegian leisure air travelers’ willingness to pay higher carbon taxes than that already included in their ticket price, applying the contingent valuation (CV) method in an experimental design. The impact of eight hypothetical taxation schemes are tested to provide insight into how regulatory policies can be developed so as to improve acceptance for carbon taxes. Results show that Norwegian outbound tourists are ready to accept higher carbon taxes and that WTP is not strongly related to the taxation scheme. This suggests that there exists a scope for policymakers to implement more stringent taxation regimes on air travel than seen today.     

Air passenger duties as strategic tourism taxation

There has been a recent debate on the rationale and economic impacts of air passenger duties (APDs) linked to puzzling empirical results on this topic. We argue that an approach from strategic tourism taxation can improve our understanding of these results. APD set by origin countries of tourists can be viewed as an instrument for extracting economic rents that would otherwise be retained by tourism destinations. A theoretical model of strategic taxation between an origin and two destinations is developed to illustrate this idea. We find that countries' strategies may end up with winners and losers, or with all parties facing welfare losses. The game outcome depends on countries' market shares of profits and the substitutability between tourism services provided by different destinations. The findings suggest that the economic impacts of APDs recently evaluated in the literature might be biased because of the omission of other countries' potential tax reactions.     

Tourist tax elasticity in Florida: Spatial effects of county-level room tax rate variation

We examine the spatial, county-level incidence of changes to tourist tax rates in Florida from 2003 to 2014. Florida allows county-level visitor tax increments to fund various tourism-related initiatives. As a result, there is considerable variation in visitor tax rates across counties and across time. Using a dynamic spatial autoregressive panel model, we show that direct and indirect effects of room tax rate changes on taxable hotel room expenditures are relatively small and largely exported to visitors. Because these taxes have recently been allowed for funding Major League Baseball Spring Training facilities, we also test whether these facilities impact hotel tax collections. We find no measurable effects of a small number of facility relocations on hotel spending in the new or previous home-counties. We also discuss the importance of considering contiguous spillovers and the use of cluster-robust standard errors in panel estimation of tax incidence for tourism.     

TERRITORIAL PLANNING AND TOURISM DEVELOPMENT TAX

An economic model of land taxation involving a local government and a private developer constitutes the theoretical framework in this research. The model hinges around a two-tier approach including both a conservation and an efficiency criterion. The analysis indicates that sustainable tourism calls for the use of land taxation and planning legislation simultaneously geared to the achievement of efficiency and the signaling of the government’s commitment to conservation policies. To provide support for the theoretical conclusions, an Italian case study is discussed, showing how the local government chose not to yield to a developer’s requests by not changing a norm prohibiting construction near of the coastline.     

The ubiquity of room taxes

This article examines the case for the imposition of room taxes and attempts to explain their ubiquity. The room tax is analysed using the main criteria for assessing taxes and is compared to property tax. The extent of room tax imposition is surveyed and the possibilities of evasion are discussed.     

Estimating willingness to pay air passenger duty

Carbon taxation on air travellers is widely considered an effective way of offsetting environmental externalities and adjusting tourist flows. Despite the popularity of carbon taxation, research investigating travellers’ willingness to pay (WTP) such taxes remains scant. Using the air passenger duty (APD) levied by the UK government, this study estimates UK outbound travellers’ WTP and further derives the demand curves under six trip scenarios. The contingent valuation method is used to elicit the travellers’ WTP based on an online questionnaire survey. Comparative analysis and hierarchical linear modelling reveal that first, travellers are willing to pay more APD for business class and long-haul trips, and second, all of the demand curves are downward sloping with increasing elasticities.     

Compliance with Local Option Lodging Taxes:

In recent years, policy makers have begun to recognize that noncompliance in collecting local option lodging taxes is a growing problem that if unchecked will ultimately threaten the capacity of local governments to raise revenue in support of their tourism economy. This paper examines compliance with collecting and reporting local option lodging taxes. A conceptual framework is provided for examining tax compliance in this area based on the existing income tax compliance literature. Potential measurement strategies that may be employed to assess the degree of noncompliance with the local option lodging tax are discussed.     

Impacts of Thailand’s tourism tax cut: A CGE analysis

This study examines Thailand’s tourism tax cut policy aimed to alleviate negative impacts arising from the 2011 flood on the tourism industry and economy. The proposed TRAVELTHAI model, a medium-scale dynamic computable general equilibrium model, serves as a powerful analytical tool for effective policy decision making. Direct-tourism industries benefit the most from the industry specific tax policy, deemed a suitable short-run policy in response to the flood. Tax cuts on inbound tourism improves the terms of trade and marginally stimulates Thailand’s GDP. It is recommended that the development of fiscal policies should be more inclusive, in order to achieve better national impacts in the long run.     

Tourist attitudes towards an accommodation tax earmarked for environmental protection: A survey in the Algarve

Tourist taxes have become increasingly popular worldwide in addressing environmental problems associated with tourism. This paper studies tourist attitudes towards an accommodation tax earmarked for environmental protection in the Algarve, the most important Portuguese tourism destination. A Chi-squared Automatic Interaction Detecting Algorithm (CHAID) is used to segment tourists according to their willingness to pay. This method allowed us to divide respondents into six segments. The dominant one, labelled “typical sun and beach tourists”, shows a low willingness to pay the earmarked accommodation tax. In contrast, the receptivity to this measure is above average in three segments, termed according to their main characteristics as “environmental steward tourists”, “nature oriented tourists” and “frugal tourists”.     

Carbon tax,tourism CO2 emissions and economic welfare

This paper, using a computable general equilibrium model, presents a simulation study of the changes in carbon emissions and economic welfare which could be brought about through a carbon tax policy in China's tourism industry. Our results clearly indicate that a carbon tax policy could have a remarkable impact on tourism-related carbon emissions and economic welfare. In addition, we find those impacts would be significantly different at different times. Also, the impacts of different carbon taxes on the different sectors of the tourism industry are also quite different. Furthermore, our analysis highlights three key managerial recommendations that are relevant for Chinese tourism policy-makers. Our results also have a certain reference value for the management of other low-carbon tourism destinations.     

JORDANS potential tourism development

Following the peace accords with Israel, Jordans potential as a destination increased significantly. Jordan consequently sought advice from various international parties for developing tourism. However, almost identical development plans designed years before by some of the same parties remain unimplemented. This is because major responsibility lies with the government and its personnel policies, taxation rates, micromanagement, and unreliable record keeping. However, beyond these problems are issues having to do with guest\host relations, cultural values, and the legacy of over a half-century of wars and enmity toward those who now compose a large portion of its market—the Israeli tourists. This paper discusses whether tourism in Jordan will be an economic boon or a destabilizing factor.     

Input‐output analysis and income distribution patterns of the tourism industry in South Korea

This study estimates the economic effects of the tourism industry in South Korea by using the Input‐Output Model in terms of output, income, employment, value added, indirect tax, and import The distribution of income is also examined in the tourism industry among various social classes using the Lorenz curve and the Gini coefficient The results show that the tourism industry performed better than most of other industries in terms of generating employment and tax revenues. The tourism industry also performs better in terms of minimizing leakage, but more poorly in terms of the linkage effect as compared to the majority of other industries. The Gini coefficient and the Lorenz curve show that the tourism industry performs moderately well in the distribution of income among household income classes as compared to the majority of other industries.     

Taxing tourism: enhancing or reducing welfare?

Using a modified simple general equilibrium model of international trade, the theoretical construct proposed by this research note shows that taxing tourism may increase or decrease economic benefit depending on the destination's market power. Yet, from a social point of view, taxing tourism can be welfare-enhancing, as externalities of rapid tourism growth should be internalized. Therefore, a social rather than a private optimum should be pursued via taxing tourism in order to guarantee sustainable tourism. From political economy perspectives, however, the actual taxation policies may not be welfare-enhancing, as they heavily depend on the political system and power relations in the destination.     

Vertical inequity in the tax assessment of lodging properties

Property taxes constitute a significant expense for owners of lodging properties. Both the real estate literature and the hospitality literature suggest that property tax inequities exist within various taxing jurisdictions and several models for measuring these inequities have been proposed. Measurement of vertical inequity can produce evidence of inequitable assessments that property owners may be able to use to challenge their properties’ assessed values. This study applies several statistical models to measure vertical inequity for hotel properties using sample data. The sample consists of 872 hotels sold between 1999 and 2004 in Florida. The results indicate that vertical inequities do exist in this sample, with lower valued properties being assessed at a higher proportion of market value than higher value properties. The results make the case that owners of properties in lower value ranges should carefully monitor the assessment process to minimize their property tax expense.     

The thorny path to sustainable tourism development

A range of interacting issues has promoted calls for sustainable tourism development. This paper defines the subject and discusses in detail some suggestions from the well known Tourism with Insight’ group about how to achieve sustainability. It goes on to examine why sustainable tourism is, however, very difficult to achieve in practice, noting the plethora of theoretical statements, the shortage of implementation skills, demand pressures, hedonism, and the impact of extended discussions — ‘hectic continuity’. A number of ways forward are suggested, including new forms of taxation, open discussion of conflicts and environmental audits: it concludes that a search for a complex perfect formula may be counterproductive, and that simple solutions may be best.     

An agent-based modelling approach to housing market regulations and Airbnb-induced tourism

Airbnb has shown constant growth and it provides income and taxes to tourist destinations. However, the prevalence of a substantial number of Airbnb providers in tourist destinations may lead to bottlenecks in rental housing markets. Regional planners and policy-makers across the world are therefore imposing restrictions to regulate this hitherto unregulated business model. The present paper sheds light on the link between housing-market regulation and the growth of Airbnb, based upon Norwegian Airbnb listings and agent-based modelling. The simulation results suggest that Airbnb's current growth will not simply flatten out when the supply matches the demand, but will be followed by a series of sudden crises and subsequent quick recoveries. These instabilities will put stress on local rental markets and threaten both the local tourism industry and rental housing markets. Moderate taxation may contribute to a more even distribution of Airbnb listings in Norway, notably across the urban space.     

TOURISM CRISIS MANAGEMENT: US Response to September 11

Policymakers are faced with the predicament of if and how they should respond to an unexpected and sudden downturn in tourism demand. In the past, they have made these decisions in the absence of research into the relative effectiveness of different responses. The downturn in the United States following September 11 is a particularly vivid example of tourism crisis. This paper analyzes the effects of this crisis using a computable general equilibrium model of the US and also examines potential and actual policy responses to the crisis. Sector-specific targeted subsidies and tax reductions are found to be the most efficient means of handling the situation.     

A Thematic Review of Australia's Club Management Magazine

ABSTRACT

This analysis of articles from 1993 to 2003 in Australia's premier club management trade magazine, Club Management in Australia (CMA), the publication of the Club Managers' Association Australia (CMAA), highlights a number of recurring key themes. These are: taxation legislation; employment relations and human resources; gambling, alcohol, smoking, and related social issues; club expansion, innovation and growth; and contribution to the community. This article analyses these themes and discusses the key forces driving change in these areas, while also identifying the viewpoints of club managers. It is concluded that empirical academic research into these themes and the issues pertaining to them is needed. This is especially true of gambling, smoking, and social issues, the effectiveness of new gambling and club-related legislation, and the contribution of clubs to the community. Further research will be required to test the validity of several of the arguments put forward by the CMAA in the articles reviewed.     

Resident tradeoffs: A choice modeling approach

The perceived impacts of tourism on host communities, and associated resident attitudes toward tourism, is an important research issue. This study uses choice modeling to identify the tradeoffs residents are willing to make with respect to tourism's impacts. This allows estimation of the probability that residents will support a tourism project or development path that generates specified impacts, as well as estimation of the changes in economic value associated with such impacts. Application in the municipality of Allinge-Gudhjem in Denmark generated a mean economic value estimate of 343 kroner for a sample development scenario involving 30 new jobs, 100 additional cars on the road, a 10% increase in rubbish, and a tax reduction of 2,000 kroner.     

Lord,please save me from my sins! Can CSR mitigate the negative impacts of sharing economy on consumer trust and corporate reputation?

The explosive growth of Airbnb not only provides travelers with novel accommodation experiences at prices that suit their budget, but also challenges the existing regulatory and market structures. While Airbnb with its distinct peer-to-peer (P2P) accommodation business model is considered a disruptive innovation in the hospitality industry, little is known about its negative side. This gap in extant literature has motivated the present study, aiming to establish whether the negative aspects of Airbnb undermine consumers' overall trust in the company and its corporate reputation, and whether this link is moderated by corporate social responsibility (CSR). Data required to answer these questions was collected via a survey in which 348 potential Airbnb users in Taiwan, selected using a nonprobability purposive sampling technique, took part. Partial least squares-structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) was employed to analyze the data. The results indicate that consumers' overall trust in Airbnb is negatively affected by various factors, ranging from legal, regulatory, and taxation issues to fake reviews/listings. The moderation analysis findings further reveal that, while the overall trust−corporate reputation link is strengthened by the environmental and philanthropic CSR, it is weakened by economic CSR, which can lead to unfavorable consumer attitudes and behavioral intentions.