Opportunities and limitations of contingent valuation surveys to determine national park entrance fees: Evidence from Costa Rica

Steven Shultz, Jorge Pinazzo, Miguel Cifuentes

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

78 Scopus citations

Abstract

A contingent valuation method (CVM) survey to determine foreign and resident willingness to pay (WTP) for return visits to two different Costa Rican national parks was administered in 1995. WTP values were estimated for future entrance fees associated with proposed improvements to infrastructure and services in the Poas Volcano and the Manuel Antonio parks. Resulting logistic CVM models were statistically robust and mean WTP for entrance fees differed among the parks and were considerably higher than current fees. Results indicate that even in a developing country setting, the CVM is a useful tool to help determine park entrance fees in spite of the following methodological limitations which are recommended for further study: the need to include potential park visitors in survey samples; the lack of detailed information framing and contingent scenarios for park related WTP questions; and the threat of cultural-strategic biases when surveying residents of a developing country.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)131-149
Number of pages19
JournalEnvironment and Development Economics
Volume3
Issue number1
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1998
Externally publishedYes

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Development
  • General Environmental Science
  • Economics and Econometrics

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