One of the canards against wind turbines: it will hurt tourism. While my personal perspective, discussions with others, and ample evidence that this is not the case, a just-released analysis of rental activity near a new installation supports the contrary: wind turbines could well foster booming tourism.
In analysis of AirBNB activity on Block Island compared to neighboring communities, in the year following construction
AirBnB rentals in Block Island experienced, on average, a 19% increase in occupancy rates and a $3,490 increase in monthly revenue compared to those in Narragansett, Westerly and Nantucket.
While the University of Rhode Island researchers are careful to note that that correlation doesn’t necessarily mean causation, they do believe that the wind farm has had a positive impact on tourism business.
Though the data did not indicate the reason for the increase in occupancy, Lang and Carr-Harris suggest that people were curious about the wind farm and wanted to see it for themselves.
“I think there has been some excitement about it. People are excited about renewable energy and sustainability, and they want to get behind it,” Lang explains. “So for the nation’s first offshore wind farm, we believe our results indicate that it has had a positive effect on tourism.”
“There are other factors that could be at play, too,” notes Carr-Harris. “It’s perceived that there is better fishing near the turbines, for instance, so more people may be coming to the island to go fishing.”