Investigating Change in the Willingness to Pay for a More Sustainable Tourist Destination in a World Heritage City

Abstract

The willingness to pay for sustainable tourism products and services has been widely discussed in the scientific literature. However, change in the willingness to pay over time has rarely been analysed. Such studies are important for understanding the impact that the increasing debate on sustainability, including environmental, economic, and social aspects, may have had on the willingness of tourists to pay more in order to ensure the sustainability of destinations. The aim of this article is to assess how the willingness of tourists to pay for sustainable tourism services has developed in the Spanish city of Cáceres, declared a World Heritage Site in 1986. Data from surveys conducted in 2012 and 2016 were used for this purpose. Logistic regression was applied to determine whether sociodemographic characteristics of tourists who visit the city influenced their willingness to pay in each year. A Chow test was applied to elucidate whether the differences between the years were statistically significant. The results obtained indicate that only the level of education determined willingness to pay, while origin, gender and age showed no effect. No significant change in the willingness to pay for sustainability was found among tourists in Cáceres between 2012 and 2016. These findings indicate that the willingness to pay for more sustainable tourism services did not increase during the period studied. We propose some measures such as a ‘municipal observatory of sustainable tourism’ in order to increase willingness to pay in this type of destination.

Willingness to Pay for Conservation: A Study in Serinsim Substation, Kinabalu Geopark, Sabah

“…Similarly, the result of this survey also shows that most local respondents are willing to pay of RM 4.89 per person, which exceeded the current fee they imposed which is RM 3.00 (see Figure 1). This finding indicates that there is evidence suggesting some tourists are willing to pay a higher price to visit locations that are viewed as sustainable, giving sustainability an added value for destinations [9] because the likelihood of the respondents accepting a price increase is higher if they were informed about the purpose of the payment. On the other hand, some respondents believe that the park should not increase the admission fee because it may not have a positive impact, while some thought that it is the government's role to enhance and maintain the park.…”

“…This method is useful as it is used in practice to represent the preferences of individuals as well as society in a variety of domains like the environment, education, health care, and others [5] . Valuation studies were conducted in developing countries, covering various types of ecosystems such as wetlands, national parks, and forests [2,9,14]. To manage and protect biodiversity, it is necessary to collect data on the economic worth of biodiversity conservation.…”

Survey of Residents of Historic Cities Willingness to Pay for a Cultural Heritage Conservation Project: The Contribution of Heritage Awareness

“…For example, historic sites provide a sense of place and identity, a level of social inclusiveness and community participation [73], and the special cultural and biological values of urban heritage trees as natural heritage are also valued by residents [74]. Jurado-Rivas and Sanchez-Rivero investigated changes in tourists' willingness to pay for destinations in World Heritage cities, found that tourists' willingness to pay for sustainable tourism services has not increased, and proposed responsive countermeasures [75]. However, these studies have often been conducted in the context of traditional approaches to cultural heritage conservation management and have not yet examined the non-use values of cultural heritage in the context of sustainable and circular economy models.…”

Place-Branded Foods with Responsible and Sustainable Management: A La Carte Serving in Regional Restaurants

“…Therefore, instead of commercialising a place through an attractive logo or more orthodox marketing strategies, in the context of tourism linked to the land, place branding is increasingly understood as a mechanism to promote the place's quality and encourage meaningful links between visitors and residents in the tourist destination through shared experiences [65][66][67].…”