Willingness to Pay for Biodiversity Conservation

ABSTRACT

Nature-based tourism is the fastest growing tourism in many parts of the world. The attitude toward conservation of nature is measured by individuals' willingness to pay. This study has made an attempt to investigate the determinants of tourists' willingness to pay (WTP) for biodiversity conservation. The determinants include a combination of socio-economic and site-specific characteristics of tourists. The study was conducted in Sikkim, which is India's prime nature-based tourism destination. Results show WTP, and effects of education, and income of tourists. Among site-specific characteristics, length of stay and number of spots are the significant determinants of WTP. This empirical research is a valuable input to identify market segment among tourists, which might help to generate more revenues for biodiversity conservation in Sikkim.

Keywords:

• Willingness to pay
• conservation
• tourism
• logit model
• tobit model
• Sikkim

The authors acknowledge their indebtedness to three anonymous referees, the Editor of the Journal, and Renee Zehr for their valuable suggestions on the earlier version of the article. The first author is grateful to the financial support received from the SANEI-ICRIER-sponsored research project on “Economics of Nature-Based Tourism in South Asia.” He is also grateful to Project Director Professor Rabindra N. Bhattacharya and Professor Mihir Baidya for their intellectual support. The usual disclaimer applies.