The Socio-economic and Environmental Impacts of Second Home Tourism: The South Pacific Coast of Nicaragua

Attractive coastal regions of Central and South America have recently experienced a rapid growth of second home developments. Informed by the experiences of Europe and the Americas, this study examines the socio-economic and environmental impacts of second homes on the South Pacific Coast of Nicaragua. An extensive review of Spanish, French and English academic literature as well as secondary data from the Rivas region were examined. Nicaraguan press releases from the two main national papers, La Prensa and El Nuevo Diario, were scanned to add congruence to the local debates and opinions collected. In-depth, semi-structured interviews and participant observation were used to collect additional qualitative data. Twenty-one decision makers and tourism officials were interviewed in the months of January and February 2007. The interviewees were representatives from the local government, Ministry of Tourism and the local tourism industry. The main impacts include conflicts with local and indigenous communities over land use and ownership, seasonal and low-income employment generation, an increased burden of municipal budget to provide public infrastructure, and environmental degradation.

It is argued that the second home tourism sector, strongly driven by private real estate investors, fails to generate tourism activities which are expected to sustain community development. This study further indicates that municipalities concentrating on the second home tourism segment may deprive access to resources to other forms of tourism activities.

Further reading

Mazón, Tomás; Aledo, Antonio (2004): Impact of residential tourism and the destination life cycle theory. WIT Press.

Mazón, Tomás (2006): Inquiring into Residential Tourism: The Costa Blanca Case. In: Tourism and Hospitality Planning & Development. Vol. 3, No. 2. Pag. 89-97.

Contact
Matteucci, Xavier, MODUL University Vienna, Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Am Kahlenberg 1, A-1190 Vienna, Austria
xavier.matteucci@modul.ac.at | www.modul.ac.at

Lund-Durlacher, Dagmar, MODUL University Vienna, Department of Tourism and Hospitality Management, Am Kahlenberg 1, A-1190 Vienna, Austria
dagmar.lund-durlacher@modul.ac.at | www.modul.ac.at

Beyer, Matthias, mas|contour Tourism Consulting and Regional Planning, Fidicinstrasse 15, D-10965 Berlin, Germany
beyer@mascontour.info | www.mascontour.info