WebinarOnline
The economics of well-being: Crafting tourism policies that benefit destinations, residents and the bottom line
Friday, 12 February 2027
Reframe tourism policy through wellbeing economics, asking how evidence, participation and distributive analysis can align viable enterprise with healthier communities, functioning environments and durable shared value.
About this event
Tourism policy is often judged through arrivals, expenditure, employment and business growth. These measures are important, but they provide only a partial account of value. This webinar considers how economic analysis can incorporate resident wellbeing, environmental quality, social inclusion and the distribution of costs and benefits. It asks what changes when destinations treat human flourishing as a central policy outcome.
The discussion will examine established and emerging approaches to valuation. Topics include cost-benefit analysis, distributional effects, quality-adjusted indicators and measures of subjective wellbeing. Participants will consider what such tools reveal, what they leave unmeasured and how choices about evidence influence public priorities. Particular attention will be given to trade-offs between short-term revenues and longer-term community resilience.
Policy design also raises questions of scale and accountability. A strategy that improves national income may still disadvantage particular neighbourhoods, workers or ecosystems. The session will explore taxation, visitor management, infrastructure investment and business incentives through this distributive lens. It will ask how affected residents can participate meaningfully in defining objectives and evaluating results.
The webinar will present wellbeing economics as a complement to commercial discipline, not a rejection of it. Sustainable enterprises need viable returns, while destinations need healthy communities and functioning environments. Better policy connects these interests through transparent goals, suitable indicators and regular review. Participants will leave with a framework for assessing whether tourism creates durable shared value, who receives that value and which hidden costs require action. This approach makes economic choices more explicit, contestable and responsive to local priorities.