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The assessment of local, regional or national impacts of an influx of tourists - of different kind and origin - has in recent years become a new challenge for economics research in the tourism sector. There is a clear need to develop solid methodologies through which the socio-economic impacts of tourism can be assessed. Tourism impact assessment - as a systematic approach to the estimation of socio-economic effects of tourism on relevant parts of the economy - has become a timely response to the need for appropriate information for stakeholders, both public and private. The present volume brings together a set of recent impact studies - of both a theoretical-methodological and an applied policy-oriented nature - , which have been selected on the basis of their originality or novel contribution to the research in this field.

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Destination Impact Analysis.- Demand Impact Analysis.- Growth Impact Analysis.- Economic Performance Analysis.- Local Impact Analysis.

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Peter Nijkamp is Professor in Regional and Urban Economics and in Economic Geography at the VU University, Amsterdam. His main research interests cover quantitative plan evaluation, regional and urban modelling, multicriteria analysis, transport systems analysis, mathematical systems modelling, technological innovation, entrepreneurship, environmental and resource management, and sustainable development. In the past years he has focussed his research in particular on new quantitative methods for policy analysis, as well as on spatial-behavioural analysis of economic agents. He has a broad expertise in the area of public policy, services planning, infrastructure management and environmental protection. In all these fields he has published many books and numerous articles.
In 1996, he was awarded the most prestigious scientific prize in the Netherlands, the Spinoza award.

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