Are Tourists Willing to Pay for a Marine Litter-Free Coastal Attraction to Achieve Tourism Sustainability? Case Study of Libong Island, Thailand

Abstract

Coastal areas around the world are under increasing environmental pressures from marine litter. In particular, tourism in coastal tourist areas suffers with waste littering on the coast, as well as in the water. Therefore, substantial costs are required for the handling of marine litter in order to achieve sustainable development in the tourism sector. The introduction of an entrance fee as an economic tool is a feasible way to provide alternative financing, in addition to limited government funding. The objective of this study was to estimate tourists’ willingness to pay (WTP) for visiting a marine litter-free coastal attraction, and examine the factors affecting the WTP. A questionnaire was employed using a single-bound dichotomous choice method on Libong Island, Thailand, between September and December 2020. A logistic model was used to estimate the WTP of the 1655 respondents. The mean WTP obtained is THB 92.24 per person per visit (approximately USD 3). The expected benefit of charging an entrance fee is THB 27.52 million (USD 0.88 million) for 2019. The factors influencing WTP are bid amount, age, education, monthly income, marine litter perception, and environmentally responsible behaviors. Associated initiatives were recommended to achieve coastal destination sustainability, including regular clean-up operations at beaches, seagrass beds, and surrounding waters; the placement and maintenance of litter facilities; and the promotion of marine litter awareness and environmentally responsible behaviors.

Consumer surplus analysis using the Travel Cost Method (TCM) at the Petrus Kafiar Beach tourist attraction, Manokwari Regency, West Papua

“…The magnitude of this value is on average influenced by age, education level and gender as shown in the results of research conducted by (Dharmawan et al 2016;Hasbiah et al 2018;Ikhwana and Khalik 2022). Even the same results about the factors that significantly affect the WTP of tourist attractions in Thailand are shown by Panwanitdumrong and Chen (2022). Similar with the results of this study, it appears that Petrus Kafiar Beach is more attractive to teenagers or those who are students.…”

Understanding environmentally responsible behavior of tourists at coastal tourist destinations

“…Recently researcher has explained the ERB of tourists by considering tourists’ characteristics only and paid little attention to behavioural and psychological factors. Further researchers have proposed that there is a need to enhance the practical and theoretical implications of ERB on coastal touring destinations(Liu et al (2022); Tang et al , 2022; Trelohan et al , 2022; Qiu et al , 2022a, 2022b, 2022c; Panwanitdumrong and Chen, 2022; Fenitra et al , 2022; Tang and Chooi, 2022; Savari et al , 2022). Previous research studies have suggested to consider place attachment, value creation and responsible destination behaviour to explain the ERB of tourists (Kim and Koo, 2020; Confente and Scarpi, 2021; He et al , 2022; Savari et al , 2022).…”

Financial compensation for natural forest logging ban: Standard calculation based on willingness to accept

“…Results show that 87.8% of farmers are willing to accept payment, with an average price of US$858.81/household/year. Panwanitdumrong and Chen 28 used the binary selection method in CVM combined with the logistic model to evaluate the willingness to pay 1655 respondents in Thailand for coastal attractions without marine debris. The estimated average was 92.94 baht per person per visit.…”