THE VALUE OF FORESTS FOR TOURISM IN SWEDEN

Sweden has a vast quantity of forests and the Right of Common Access allows tourists to freely enter any forest no matter who owns it. An economic valuation study was carried out in two tourism areas, one in the southern pare of the country and one in the northern part. It was shown that a considerable portion of the value to tourists is attributable to forest characteristics. Furthermore, the results suggest that this value can be increased by modifying forest management practices; for example, by making clearcuts smaller, even if there were more of them, and by increasing the proportion of broad leaved trees in forest stands.