Fourth International Conference on Tourism and Leisure Studies

Abstract

The Essential Air Service program, established in 1978 by the federal government as a temporary measure designed to help remote communities cope with the impact of airline deregulation, subsidizes flights to certain destinations that would not otherwise have ready access to commercial air service. Some of the areas served, such as Bar Harbor, Maine, West Yellowstone, Montana, and Moab, Utah, are prime tourist destinations. The increasing cost of the program over its forty-year history has not gone unnoticed by Congress. Although it would appear to be low-hanging fruit for budget-minded legislators, efforts to radically reduce expenditures have been only marginally successful. The lack of a ground-swell movement to eliminate the program can be explained by the economic theory of concentrated benefits and disbursed costs; that is to say, the benefits of the program are concentrated in a localized few who can serve as an active voting block while the costs are disbursed among all taxpayers who hardly notice the miniscule charge. I would argue that it is reasonable and prudent at this time to gradually reduce the number of serviced communities through incentives and sunset provisions and, furthermore, that such a reduction will have very little impact on remote community tourism.