The effects of Coronavirus (COVID-19) on expected tourism revenues for natural preservation. The case of the Galapagos Islands

Abstract

This research reports the effects of Coronavirus COVID-19 outbreak on expected tourism revenues for preservation in the Galapagos Islands, a well-known international tourism destination. We explore the trends and construct a seasonal index to estimate the expected number of visitors in the Galapagos National Park (GNP) as well as the potential revenue from the fee entrance in the park, which is used for preservation activities. Our results indicate that in our optimistic scenario, losses would account for half of the revenues in 2020,having a high impact on the Galapagos National Park preservation activities. Based on our results, we recommend GNP and Ecuadorian authorities to look for alternative sources of funding, so conservation programs in the park can continue with no interruption.

The relative importance of COVID‐19 pandemic impacts on biodiversity conservation globally

“…In South Africa's national parks, which are about 85% funded by tourism‐related spending (Lindsey et al., 2020), tourism revenue dropped by 90% between April and June 2020 (Smith et al., 2021). In the Galapagos, at least half the expected 2020 tourism revenue is predicted to be lost (Diaz‐Sanchez & Obaco, 2020). Wildlife tourism employees and communities will suffer financial hardship and may lose their livelihoods or be lost from the conservation sector.…”

Marine reserves and resilience in the era of COVID-19

“…Worldwide, protected areas are largely underfunded, with tourism supplementing large portions of MPA management budgets [4]. Tourism losses over the pandemic in areas like the Galápagos amounted to more than half of park management annual budgets, highlighting the danger of overly relying on tourism to fund conservation [12]. Nevertheless, a suite of options including diversifying MPA financing to lessen the reliance on tourism income, building new food supply chains utilising sustainable local produce, and innovative low-cost automated monitoring systems have been identified as components of recovery in a post-COVID-19 environment [4].…”

“…Several studies indicated an early shift from viewing MPAs as more than just an environmental effort, but also as a national security and public health priority [12]. In Malaysia, border security was identified as a national pandemic priority, and increased coordination between enforcement agencies in the Tun Mustapha Park resulted in a reduction in illegal blast fishing [33].…”

Psychological Distress in the Galapagos Islands During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…During the first months of the pandemic, Galapagos only had the support from the local university and some of the local stakeholders that provided logistical support. After this, when the outbreak of the first wave was contained, the local government implemented additional testing capabilities, running free testing for every islander [ 28 , 29 ]. The first cases in Galapagos were reported on March 24th by the ministry of health, totaling four infections ( Table 1 ).…”