Environmental Services, Externalities and Agriculture: The Case of Mountain Tourism in Morocco

This study uses hedonic pricing techniques to estimate the value of agricultural amenities in Morocco's High Atlas Mountains. The analysis is limited to positive externalities related to land use, providing indicators to better inform policy decisions effecting rural and agricultural development. Advantages linked to landscape planning and its contribution to sustaining the tourism activity are documented. Amenities specific to mountain agriculture have a positive influence on the tourist accommodation rental market and particularly on farmhouses. These advantages include joint products linked to the farmhouses bordering cultivated areas, the scenery value of annual crops, the shade and attractiveness provided by walnut trees and the presence of domestic animals.