Frequency and time in recreational demand

Abstract

In the standard single-site travel cost model, it is assumed that time spent on-site is exogenous. This assumption results in a willingness to pay (WTP) for time on-site of zero, which may be less realistic for many urban parks that are frequently visited by local residents.We develop a single-site travel cost model where a visitor simultaneously chooses the number of visits and how much time to spend on-site. In this model, the WTP estimate includes the price of the trip and the price of time spent on-site. Next, we develop a two-part hurdle model with non-zero correlation between the number of trips and time spent on-site.We use data gathered in an urban park in Iceland to estimate the model. The estimated WTP values are more than twice as high as the estimates of the standard single-site model.

Using social media photos as a proxy to estimate the recreational value of (im)movable heritage: the Rubjerg Knude (Denmark) lighthouse

“…In this study, the travel cost of visiting the site in question for visitors performing multipurpose trips was estimated to be a percentage of the total benefits (see the fourth column of Table 1). This criterion was also used in other studies (Bedate et al , 2004; Buason et al , 2020; Desta and Bersisa, 2019; Tourkolias et al , 2015). For example, for zone 1, it was assumed that visitors wanted to visit two places, which means that visiting the lighthouse only constituted 50% of the benefit of the trip.…”