Ain't no mountain nice enough: UNESCO listing of the Dolomites and tourism demand

This paper examines the impact of the 2009 UNESCO World Heritage listing of the Dolomites on local tourism and environmental outcomes. Using data from 349 municipalities in the Italian alpine provinces of Trento, Bolzano, and Belluno between 2005 and 2013, we estimate the effect of the listing by combining a LASSO-logit model for selection adjustment with a difference-in-differences strategy. Results indicate a significant and persistent increase in tourism demand in the designated municipalities, with an average increase of 9.1 per cent over the five years following the listing. On the supply side, compared with the untreated municipalities, we find that the number of tourist establishments remained stable, while total bed capacity decreased. This suggests either a shift towards smaller accommodation units or a deliberate strategy of capacity reduction within the UNESCO-designated area. In line with these assumptions, the increase in visitor flows did not generate measurable environmental costs: we find no significant changes in land consumption and, if anything, we find a reduction in total waste production, driven by a decline in unsorted waste. These findings suggest that the UNESCO listing may have placed local economic development in the Dolomites on a more sustainable trajectory.