The value of wildlife-viewing tourism as an incentive for conservation of biodiversity in the Okavango Delta, Botswana

Figures & data

Figure 1. Map of the Okavango Delta, showing safari camps and Moremi Game Reserve. Source: Adapted from Department of Tourism of Botswana, Okavango Delta map, 2001b.

Figure 2. Histogram of visitors' age (years) with normal distribution superimposed

Figure 3. Histogram of visitors' income (US$) with normal distribution superimposed

Table 1: Descriptive statistics in the contingent valuation and travel cost models (Abbreviations are shown in parentheses for specific variables used in subsequent tables)

	Variable	Mean	δ	N
Socio-economic characteristics	Age	36	14.51	195
	Gender (0 = female, 1 = male)	0.50	0.50	196
	Income	43 456	52 691	127
	European nationality	0.53	0.50	148
	African nationality	0.20	0.40	148
	North American nationality	0.19	0.39	148
Trip characteristics*	Total cost of trip (US$)	3 616	4 210	184
	Cost of Okavango Delta portion (OKACOST) (US$)	1 122	2 162	163
	Transport cost (US$)	896	1 463	120
	Number of days away	41	60	195
	Number of days lost from work	18	25	89
	Number of days spent wildlife viewing in the Delta (DAYSWILD)	4	4	179
	Also visited South Africa as part of this trip	0.57	0.50	157
	Also visited Zimbabwe as part of this trip	0.57	0.50	157
	Also visited Namibia as part of this trip	0.57	0.50	157
	Visited other countries as part of this trip	0.34	0.47	157
	Also visited Chobe National Park as part of this trip	0.19	0.39	162
	Also visited Makgadikgadi Pans as part of this trip	0.75	0.43	162
	Also visited Tsodillo Hills as part of this trip	0.10	0.31	162
	Lodge accommodation while in the Delta (ACLODGE)	0.20	0.40	196
	Campground accommodation while in the Delta (ACCAMP)	0.74	0.44	196
	Travelled by plane into the Delta (TRPLANE)	0.40	0.49	197
	Travelled by overland truck into the Delta	0.11	0.32	197
	Travelled by boat into the Delta	0.20	0.40	197
	Self-driven into the Delta (TRSELF)	0.23	0.42	197
	Quality ratings**	Rating of camp/lodge employees	3.54	1.49	159
Rating of guides	3.60	1.58	183
Rating of park officials	2.26	1.84	165
Rating of wildlife-viewing opportunities (RTWILD)	4.19	0.90	193
Would pay the same if wildlife-viewing opportunities were diminished (PAYSAME)	0.29	0.46	152
Concerned with environmental impacts on the Delta	0.91	0.28	147
Would recommend the trip to others	0.98	0.14	194
Felt the trip was worth the money spent	0.86	0.35	163
Maximum amount (MAXPAY) visitor would have spent on Delta trip (# of times the present cost)	1.17	0.34	171
Comment (0 = negative, 1 = positive)	0.58	0.50	60
Values	Amount visitor is willing to donate (DONATE) to a preservation fund for the Delta (US$/annum)	60	172	174
	Consumer surplus (SURPLUS): difference between maximum price and actual price paid (US$/annum)	225	744	168
	*0 = no and 1 = yes, where value not specified.
** For ratings, 0 = lowest and 5 = highest. For all other responses, 0 = no and 1 = yes.

Table 2: Significant bivariate correlations between income and key variables

	Correlation	P value	N
DONATE	0.208*	0.028	112
SURPLUS	0.284**	0.003	109
OKACOST	0.708**	0.000	109
ACLODGE	0.404**	0.000	127
*Correlation is significant at the 10% level (p < 0.05).
**Correlation is very significant (p < 0.001).

Table 3: Mean WTP for preservation (DONATE), consumer surplus (SURPLUS), income for visitors who stayed in lodges (ACLODGE) and campsites (ACCAMP) and visitors who travelled by plane (TRPLANE) and were self-driven (TRSELF)

		Mean ($)	δ ($)	N
ACLODGE	DONATE	99	204	41
	SURPLUS	609	1 470	35
	INCOME	77 700	73 299	32
ACCAMP	DONATE	50	161	130
	SURPLUS	129	312	128
	INCOME	37 513	52 932	94
TRPLANE	DONATE	68	161	70
	SURPLUS	374	1 075	69
	INCOME	56 987	65 162	58
TRSELF	DONATE	119	277	42
	SURPLUS	314	1 200	40
	INCOME	39 784	52 163	32

Table 4: Significant bivariate correlations between amount willing to pay (DONATE) and key variables

	Correlation	P value	N
RTWILD	0.223**	0.004	167
OKACOST	0.231**	0.006	141
DAYSWILD	0.165*	0.032	168
*Correlation is significant at the 10% level (p < 0.05).
**Correlation is very significant (p < 0.001).

Table 5: Significant bivariate correlations between consumer surplus (SURPLUS) and key variables

	Correlation	P value	N
DONATE	0.283**	0.001	146
RTWILD	0.139	0.076	164
MAXPAY	0.480**	< 0.001	166
OKACOST	0.301**	< 0.001	148
DAYSWILD	0.492**	< 0.001	153
*Correlation is significant at the 10% level (p < 0.05).
**Correlation is very significant (p < 0.001).

DEPARTMENT OF TOURISM OF BOTSWANA . 2001b . Okavango Delta map . http://www.botswana-tourism.gov.bw/maps/maps.html Accessed 17 April 2007

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