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Socio-economic and enviromental effects of eco-tourism

Last registered on May 27, 2019
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Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Socio-economic and enviromental effects of eco-tourism
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0003847
Initial registration date
May 16, 2019

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
May 27, 2019, 4:59 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

Country
Colombia
Region
Amazon, Orinoquia, Pacific

Primary Investigator

Name
Santiago Saavedra
Affiliation
Contact Primary Investigator

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Name
Ana Saavedra
PI Affiliation

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2019-05-20
End date
2022-03-30
Keywords
Environment & Energy
Additional Keywords
JEL code(s)
O13, Q23
Secondary IDs
Abstract
Forest communities often lack income opportunities that do not degrade the environment. Eco-tourism is presented as an economic activity that could reduce poverty and protect the forests. However, additional income could increase the demand for forest intensive products. To assess what happens empirically, we randomize municipalities into an eco-tourism enhancement strategy to evaluate the possible effects on household income and forest conservation. We rely on household surveys for socio-economic variables and satellite data for forest measurement. We will initially measure the effects one year later, but it would be possible to assess long term effects later.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Saavedra, Ana and Santiago Saavedra. 2019. "Socio-economic and enviromental effects of eco-tourism." AEA RCT Registry. May 27. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.3847-1.1
Former Citation
Saavedra, Ana and Santiago Saavedra. 2019. "Socio-economic and enviromental effects of eco-tourism." AEA RCT Registry. May 27. https://www.socialscienceregistry.org/trials/3847/history/196930
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Identify sustainable tourism suppliers in 38 municipalities to empower them by connecting directly with customers using the online marketplace offered by Awake Travel. Beneficiaries will get access to an online technical support platform (E-learning platform) where they will be able to learn and improve on their business practices through online tutorials on areas such as housekeeping and tour design amongst others. Some will be provided with additional site-specific technical assistance.
Intervention Start Date
2019-06-01
Intervention End Date
2020-03-01

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Income, Tourism Income, Consumption, Number of Tourists, Deforestation. We have funding for a one year follow up, but are in the process of applying for more funding for a longer term evaluation.
Primary Outcomes (explanation)
Deforestation will be the share of area deforested in the municipality and in buffers around the touristic attraction of different size 1km, 2km, 5km, 10km.

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
The study is a Randomized Control Trial to evaluate the impact of sustainable tourism on household’s income and deforestation. We will survey 10 households in each of 76 municipalities in the Amazon, Orinoquía and Pacific regions of Colombia. Each household will be surveyed initially at the beginning of the project (May 2019) and nine months later. The questionnaire includes socio-economic and tourism questions. Out of the 76 municipalities we will select half at random, where Awake will promote eco-tourism as described on the "Intervention" section.
Experimental Design Details
Randomization Method
Done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
Municipality
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
38 pairs of municipalities
Sample size: planned number of observations
760 housheolds
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
38 treated municipalities, and 38 control municipalities
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
Supporting Documents and Materials

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IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Stanford University Panel on Human Subjects in Non-Medical Research
IRB Approval Date
2019-05-12
IRB Approval Number
50500
Analysis Plan

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Post-Trial

Post Trial Information

Study Withdrawal

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Intervention

Is the intervention completed?
Yes
Intervention Completion Date
March 15, 2020, 12:00 +00:00
Data Collection Complete
Yes
Data Collection Completion Date
October 31, 2021, 12:00 +00:00
Final Sample Size: Number of Clusters (Unit of Randomization)
76 municipalities, 38 treated municitalities
Was attrition correlated with treatment status?
No
Final Sample Size: Total Number of Observations
823 individuals
Final Sample Size (or Number of Clusters) by Treatment Arms
38 conrol and 38 treated municitalities
Data Publication

Data Publication

Is public data available?
No

Program Files

Program Files
Reports, Papers & Other Materials

Relevant Paper(s)

Reports & Other Materials