TY - JOUR
T1 - Valuing access to protected areas in Nepal: The case of Chitwan National Park
AU - Pandit, Ram
AU - Dhakal, M.
AU - Polyakov, Maksym
PY - 2015
Y1 - 2015
N2 - © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. This paper investigates the international and domestic visitors' willingness to pay (WTP) an entry fee at Chitwan National Park (CNP) in Nepal, the factors affecting their WTP, and the trade-offs among entry fees, visitation demand and park revenue. Based on the contingent valuation surveys of 222 non-South Asian, 48 South Asian, and 40 domestic visitors, the logit regression results suggest that the visitors have a substantially higher WTP than the current entry fees. Depending on visitor categories, the estimated mean WTP per visitor per day was at least 2.5 times higher than the existing entry fee. The WTP is positively affected by the visitor's CNP experience. The current fees capture only about 21% of consumer surplus derived from CNP access. Doubling the current entry fees would modestly decrease the number of CNP visitors (61%).
AB - © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. This paper investigates the international and domestic visitors' willingness to pay (WTP) an entry fee at Chitwan National Park (CNP) in Nepal, the factors affecting their WTP, and the trade-offs among entry fees, visitation demand and park revenue. Based on the contingent valuation surveys of 222 non-South Asian, 48 South Asian, and 40 domestic visitors, the logit regression results suggest that the visitors have a substantially higher WTP than the current entry fees. Depending on visitor categories, the estimated mean WTP per visitor per day was at least 2.5 times higher than the existing entry fee. The WTP is positively affected by the visitor's CNP experience. The current fees capture only about 21% of consumer surplus derived from CNP access. Doubling the current entry fees would modestly decrease the number of CNP visitors (61%).
U2 - 10.1016/j.tourman.2014.12.017
DO - 10.1016/j.tourman.2014.12.017
M3 - Article
SN - 0261-5177
VL - 50
SP - 1
EP - 12
JO - Tourism Management
JF - Tourism Management
ER -