Economic valuation of recreation use value of Kilimanjaro National Park, Tanzania.
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Date
2014
Authors
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
Tanzanian authorities managing environmental resources and services have made
efforts to set the fees to access their resources. However still there is scanty
information on the pricing strategy that consider both the value of the resources and
the consumer’s perception on quality of services. This study focused on using Travel
Cost Method to value recreation in Kilimanjaro National Park. Data were collected
using questionnaire survey, key informants interviews and secondary materials. The
questionnaire used for survey was designed to capture socio - demographic variables
of visitors, travel cost component variable and data on visitor’s perception on the
quality of services provided during a visit to KINAPA. With the sample size of 384,
the data generated from the survey was modeled with Poisson model. Based on this
econometric results, consumer surplus per day of stay in the park was 925 182 TZS
(USD 571.10), the mean visitor willingness to pay per day of a visit was 837 280.80
TZS (USD 516.84), the total recreation value of the park was estimated to be 314 165
955 200 TZS (USD 193 929 602) per one calendar year and the revenue maximizing
entry fee for the park was estimated to be 90 396 TZS (USD 55.8). Moreover, the
findings indicated that variables such as travel costs, available recreation income, age,
employment status and the quality perception were significant and have an influence
on the number of days a visitor stays in the park. More economic valuation research on recreation use value is recommended to other National Parks since clear understanding of the value of existing natural resource trigger the proper management
and allocation of resources.
Description
Master of Science in Environmental and Natural Resources Economics
Keywords
Economic valuation, Kilimanjaro National Park-Tanzania, Recreation use value-National park