Dr. Leon Mach, professor of environmental policy, joins me to talk about his most recent article that he co-authored with Jess Ponting, Ph.D., titled, “Establishing a pre-COVID-19 baseline for surf tourism: Trip expenditure and attitudes, behaviors and willingness to pay for sustainability.” In this episode, we analyze surf tourism’s potential as a driver for sustainable development in costal communities during and after the Coronavirus pandemic.

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Leon Mach is an Associate Professor in Environmental Policy and Socioeconomic Values, School for Field Studies, Center for Tropical Island Biodiversity Studies, Bocas del Toro, Panama.

Jess Ponting is an Associate Professor in sustainable tourism at San Diego State University’s L. Robert Payne School of Hospitality and Tourism Management and the founder and Director of the Center for Surf Research.

Together, they are also founders of the International Association for Surfing Researchers (IASR).