Tourists’ willingness to accept/pay increased entry fees for park improvement projects

ABSTRACT

Based on contingent valuation methods, this study examined visitors’ level of willingness to accept as well as pay an increase in the daily entry fee to be used for proposed improvements at Kafue National Park in Zambia. Data collection was conducted via visitor intercepts at international airports, recreation sites, and accommodations. Overall, both current and non-visitors were most willing to accept and pay for improvements towards natural resources and amenities, followed by visitor facilities and services, and road networks. Likewise, they expressed a willingness to pay a higher amount than the current entry fee, with the highest for natural resources and amenities.

KEYWORDS:

• Contingent valuation
• user fees
• Kafue National Park
• Zambia

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Brijesh Thapa http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0163-5580

Notes

1 The entry fee varied for citizens (ZMK 20,160 – US$ 3.8), residents (US$ 15), and non-residents (US$ 20).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by U.S. Government – Millennium Challenge Corporation. The specific contents are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not reflect the views of the agency.