Valuing Urban Cultural Heritage in African Countries: A Contingent Valuation Study of Historic Buildings in Port Louis, Mauritius

Abstract

While economic valuation of cultural goods has expanded as a field of inquiry, few studies have so far focused on urban cultural heritage of African cities, places generally characterized by development pressure but also growing tourism potential. In this paper, we apply Contingent Valuation (CV) method to estimate the economic benefits arising from the preservation and rehabilitation of historic buildings in the city center of Port Louis, Mauritius. By simultaneously analyzing the preferences of both foreign tourists and local residents, the paper investigates differences of two relevant groups of users of historic city centers and discusses the challenge in assessing economic benefits to justify investments in cultural heritage preservation. Moreover, the paper adds evidence on the complex relationship between cultural attitudes toward heritage and economic valuation, revealing conditions and contexts under which the willingness to pay for cultural goods, measured by stated preference methods, might incorporate the cultural value people express on these goods.

Sensory Ecofeminism for Heritage, Tourism, and Sustainability in Mauritius

“…In Mauritius, heritage management is a systematic, professionalized process [39]. Heritage is framed as a process that occurs in historicized and institutionally authorized heritage locales.…”

Tingkat Daya Tarik Pasar dan Daya Tahan Aset Budaya sebagai Pesona Pariwisata di Lombok Timur

“…Implikasi logisnya adalah, sukses atau tidaknya pengembangan pariwisata yang memanfaatkan budaya lokal sebagai pesona pariwisata tergantung pada produktivitas yang timbul dari hasil pelibatan masyarakat. Oleh karena itu, pengembangan konsep berkelanjutan dengan orientasi konservasi dan ekonomi harus berbasis pada SDM dan dikaji secara menyeluruh (Zonouz, et al, 2018;Bertacchini & Riad, 2020), dikembangkan untuk meningkatkan manfaat pariwisata bagi masyarakat lokal (Kristianto, et al, 2019).…”

The appraisal of reproduction costs of historic properties: the case of Venetian Villas / La stima del costo di riproduzione delle dimore storiche: il caso delle Ville Venete

“…More recently, Ben-Malke and Poria (Ben-Malka and Poria, 2020) return to the question of the correct measurement of the economic value of environmental and historical assets and argue that it is the willingness to accept compensation and not the willingness to pay, especially when non-use values are evaluated. Bertacchini and Sultan (Bertacchini and Sultan, 2020) note that the willingness to pay for the recovery of historical artifacts is correlated with their cultural value. In summary, from the studies examined it is possible to deduce the existence of a significant willingness to pay for the protection and recovery of historical artifacts and that this is often linked to their cultural value, to the information available on the artifacts, to the level of education and cultural consumption and, last but not least, to the initiatives for the enhancement, including economic, of the same.…”