Traffic Congestion in Rural Tourist Areas and Sustainable Mobility Services. The Case of Ticino (Switzerland) Valleys

Increased traffic congestion, lower air-quality, and worsening of destination’s image perception are just some of the negative externalities affecting destinations relying on natural amenities and supplying nature-based activities. Adopting a Stated Preference experiment, this research investigates southern Switzerland natural areas’ visitors’ reaction to the hypothetical introduction of sustainable means of transport, and puts forward possible interventions to reduce the share of car users. Results show that the introduction of innovative means of transport, such as a park-and-ride integrated with a shuttle service or a bike-sharing system, might have a strong impact in reducing traffic congestion. From a sample composed by 65% of car users, results show that if innovative sustainable mobility services were introduced, market share of cars would reduce to less than 20%. Furthermore, an increase in parking cost would further decrease the use of private vehicles, in favour to alternative solutions.