Estimating the Recreation Value of Ecosystems by Using a Travel Cost Method Approach

Isabel Mendes and Isabel Proença ()

No 2005/08, Working Papers Department of Economics from ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Department of Economics, Universidade de Lisboa

Abstract: Recreation is one of the ecosystem’s secondary values of a well conserved natural ecosystem, associated with the direct use individuals make of these natural assets. In this paper we define and estimate the total economic recreation value to visitors of a particular natural area, a national park. An on-site individual observation Travel Cost Model, Count Data distributions, and a version of hyperbolic discounting framework distribution were used to estimate a measure for the present recreation use of the site and the total discounted recreation value for a 50 years period. The empirical estimates of the average representative visitor’s present equivalent surplus willingness to pay, based on the impact assumption of closure or loss of access to the park were 123 € per day per visit, and 593 € per each average five days length visit, per visitor. These values suggest that recreation use of nature has a higher value than certain economic activities in the area.

Keywords: Recreation Use Value; Ecosystem; Estimation; Travel Cost Method; Welfare Measures; Count Data Models. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C3 D1 D4 Q2 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2005
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-env, nep-sea and nep-tur
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

Downloads: (external link)
https://depeco.iseg.ulisboa.pt/wp/wp082005.pdf (application/pdf)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:ise:isegwp:wp82005

Access Statistics for this paper

More papers in Working Papers Department of Economics from ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Department of Economics, Universidade de Lisboa Department of Economics, ISEG - Lisbon School of Economics and Management, Universidade de Lisboa, Rua do Quelhas 6, 1200-781 LISBON, PORTUGAL.
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Vitor Escaria ().