Understanding Tourists’ Willingness-to-Pay for Rural Landscape Improvement and Preference Heterogeneity

Li Cong, Yujun Zhang, Ching-Hui (Joan) Su, Ming-Hsiang Chen and Jinnan Wang
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Li Cong: School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Yujun Zhang: School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China
Ching-Hui (Joan) Su: Department of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management, College of Human Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1078, USA
Ming-Hsiang Chen: School of Hospitality Business Management, Carson College of Business, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4742, USA
Jinnan Wang: School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China

Sustainability, 2019, vol. 11, issue 24, 1-20

Abstract: With the vigorous development of urbanization and rural tourism, the landscape of villages and towns has undergone tremendous changes under the influence of policies and industries. In order to avoid irreversible changes in the local heritage landscape and promote local sustainable development, it is necessary to strengthen the attention and research on the rural recreation landscape. This research examines the value of rural landscape recreation by applying the choice experiment method (CEM) to a suburban area in Sichuan, China. Mixed logit models were adopted in examining tourists’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for rural landscape improvement and preference heterogeneity. An assessment of the rural landscape’s recreational value was made using the compensating surplus calculation method. Results reported are of four important landscape elements: ecological environment, rural life and associated productive landscape, rural housing, and service landscape, ranked by tourists from high-to-low. A major finding of the research is that an increase in rural tourism is dependent upon improvements to landscape elements. The results of this research can provide policymakers with valuable information necessary to develop a successful plan to attract and increase tourism in rural areas of China.

Keywords: rural landscape; rural tourism; recreational value; choice experiment; China (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2019
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (8)

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