Are beach visitors willing to pay for coastal conservation efforts to combat climate change? The case study of Fuengirola (southern Spain)

Climate change (CC) is increasingly threatening the conservation of coastal areas worldwide, intensifying pressures from erosion, sea-level rise, and extreme weather events. This study assesses visitors’ willingness to pay (WTP) for beach con- servation in Fuengirola (Spain), a high-density tourist...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Expósito, Alfonso, Berbegal-Zaragoza, Vanesa
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2026
País:España
Institución:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
Repositorio:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
OAI Identifier:oai:dnet:idus________::4fdd6851e6b6c5b4f578395ec2f0f4ae
Acceso en línea:https://hdl.handle.net/11441/186276
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-026-01854-4
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Beach conservation
Climate change
Coastal destination
Tourism
Willingness to pay
Spain
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spelling Are beach visitors willing to pay for coastal conservation efforts to combat climate change? The case study of Fuengirola (southern Spain)Expósito, AlfonsoBerbegal-Zaragoza, VanesaBeach conservationClimate changeCoastal destinationTourismWillingness to paySpainClimate change (CC) is increasingly threatening the conservation of coastal areas worldwide, intensifying pressures from erosion, sea-level rise, and extreme weather events. This study assesses visitors’ willingness to pay (WTP) for beach con- servation in Fuengirola (Spain), a high-density tourist destination on the Mediterranean Costa del Sol whose economy is strongly dependent on beach-based tourism. Using a contingent valuation method, the study estimates visitors’ WTP for beach conservation while considering socio-economic and attitudinal factors that influence payment preferences. Findings reveal that a significant proportion of beach visitors are willing to financially support conservation efforts, with variations based on factors such as nationality, visit characteristics, and CC awareness. Additionally, the results support the economic feasibility of implementing user-based funding into coastal conservation strategies, highlighting the role of visitor contri- butions in strengthening long-term coastal resilience and sustainable tourism in Mediterranean urban environments. This study enriches the broader literature on sustainable tourism and climate adaptation finance by providing empirical evidence from an urban coastal destination, where pressures from human activity intersect with rising climate vulnerabilities.SpringerEconomía Aplicada I2026info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/11441/186276https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-026-01854-4reponame:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevillainstname:Universidad de Sevilla (US)InglésSustainability Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-026-01854-4info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:dnet:idus________::4fdd6851e6b6c5b4f578395ec2f0f4ae2026-06-17T12:51:07Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Are beach visitors willing to pay for coastal conservation efforts to combat climate change? The case study of Fuengirola (southern Spain)
title Are beach visitors willing to pay for coastal conservation efforts to combat climate change? The case study of Fuengirola (southern Spain)
spellingShingle Are beach visitors willing to pay for coastal conservation efforts to combat climate change? The case study of Fuengirola (southern Spain)
Expósito, Alfonso
Beach conservation
Climate change
Coastal destination
Tourism
Willingness to pay
Spain
title_short Are beach visitors willing to pay for coastal conservation efforts to combat climate change? The case study of Fuengirola (southern Spain)
title_full Are beach visitors willing to pay for coastal conservation efforts to combat climate change? The case study of Fuengirola (southern Spain)
title_fullStr Are beach visitors willing to pay for coastal conservation efforts to combat climate change? The case study of Fuengirola (southern Spain)
title_full_unstemmed Are beach visitors willing to pay for coastal conservation efforts to combat climate change? The case study of Fuengirola (southern Spain)
title_sort Are beach visitors willing to pay for coastal conservation efforts to combat climate change? The case study of Fuengirola (southern Spain)
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Expósito, Alfonso
Berbegal-Zaragoza, Vanesa
author Expósito, Alfonso
author_facet Expósito, Alfonso
Berbegal-Zaragoza, Vanesa
author_role author
author2 Berbegal-Zaragoza, Vanesa
author2_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv Economía Aplicada I
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Beach conservation
Climate change
Coastal destination
Tourism
Willingness to pay
Spain
topic Beach conservation
Climate change
Coastal destination
Tourism
Willingness to pay
Spain
description Climate change (CC) is increasingly threatening the conservation of coastal areas worldwide, intensifying pressures from erosion, sea-level rise, and extreme weather events. This study assesses visitors’ willingness to pay (WTP) for beach con- servation in Fuengirola (Spain), a high-density tourist destination on the Mediterranean Costa del Sol whose economy is strongly dependent on beach-based tourism. Using a contingent valuation method, the study estimates visitors’ WTP for beach conservation while considering socio-economic and attitudinal factors that influence payment preferences. Findings reveal that a significant proportion of beach visitors are willing to financially support conservation efforts, with variations based on factors such as nationality, visit characteristics, and CC awareness. Additionally, the results support the economic feasibility of implementing user-based funding into coastal conservation strategies, highlighting the role of visitor contri- butions in strengthening long-term coastal resilience and sustainable tourism in Mediterranean urban environments. This study enriches the broader literature on sustainable tourism and climate adaptation finance by providing empirical evidence from an urban coastal destination, where pressures from human activity intersect with rising climate vulnerabilities.
publishDate 2026
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2026
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/11441/186276
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-026-01854-4
url https://hdl.handle.net/11441/186276
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-026-01854-4
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv Sustainability Science.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-026-01854-4
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Springer
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
instname:Universidad de Sevilla (US)
instname_str Universidad de Sevilla (US)
reponame_str idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
collection idUS. Depósito de Investigación de la Universidad de Sevilla
repository.name.fl_str_mv
repository.mail.fl_str_mv
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