Land use regulations and small tourism enterprises

Abstract

Land use regulation, while critical for economic development, is complex to implement, and can lead to unintended consequences. Despite the importance of land use in tourism, there remains scarce discussion on the micro-level impact of land use regulations on tourism development. Within the regulatory impact assessment framework, this study assesses the impact of land use regulations on the economic competitiveness and growth of small tourism enterprises. Through our empirical study, we argue that despite expanded access to land use rights, the economic impact on tourism enterprises may not be entirely positive due to their increased risks, and unclear benefits to local economic development, bringing into question competitiveness and growth potential of tourism enterprises impacted by such regulations.