IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/forpol/v56y2015icp9-19.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring visitors' willingness to pay to generate revenues for managing the National Elephant Conservation Center in Malaysia

Author

Listed:
  • Kaffashi, Sara
  • Yacob, Mohd Rusli
  • Clark, Maynard S.
  • Radam, Alias
  • Mamat, Mohd Farid

Abstract

Financial sustainability of protected areas is one of the main challenges of management. Financial self-sufficiency is an important element in improving conservation effort in these areas. This study seeks to review best practices in recreational fee systems in different countries and to find a relevant entry fee for a wildlife sanctuary in Malaysia. The revenue of the National Elephant Conservation Center (NECC) in Kuala Gandah, Malaysia, comes from several sources, including the national government, but all these budgetary sources are strained by tighter public budgets and greater demands. The present study investigates the introduction of visitor entrance fees to supplement an otherwise inadequate budget for supporting the operational costs of the sanctuary. Factor analysis and a double-bounded contingent valuation method were combined to estimate tourists' willingness to pay (WTP) the proposed entrance fee. Factor analysis showed that respondents' motivation to support the NECC with user fees is conditioned by their direct experiences with elephants, their satisfaction with NECC's educational programs and services, and other experiences it gives to users. The WTP model considered respondents' four motivation factors with their sociodemographic characteristics. Since NECC visitors arrive from both within and outside the country, this study suggests to center managers a two-tier fee structure (residents vs. nonresidents of Malaysia), based upon mean WTP estimates. This study further suggests that revenue from such an entrance fee for NECC could support the Center's management and development costs.

Suggested Citation

  • Kaffashi, Sara & Yacob, Mohd Rusli & Clark, Maynard S. & Radam, Alias & Mamat, Mohd Farid, 2015. "Exploring visitors' willingness to pay to generate revenues for managing the National Elephant Conservation Center in Malaysia," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 9-19.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:56:y:2015:i:c:p:9-19
    DOI: 10.1016/j.forpol.2015.03.004
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1389934115000428
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.forpol.2015.03.004?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kido, Antonio & Seidl, Andrew, 2008. "Optimizing protected area entry fees across stakeholders: the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Michoacan, Mexico," Environment and Development Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 13(2), pages 229-243, April.
    2. Hanemann, W Michael, 1984. "Discrete-Continuous Models of Consumer Demand," Econometrica, Econometric Society, vol. 52(3), pages 541-561, May.
    3. Kanninen Barbara J., 1995. "Bias in Discrete Response Contingent Valuation," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 28(1), pages 114-125, January.
    4. Pinuccia Calia & Elisabetta Strazzera, 2000. "Bias and efficiency of single versus double bound models for contingent valuation studies: a Monte Carlo analysis," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 32(10), pages 1329-1336.
    5. Adis Isangkura, 1998. "Thailand's National Parks: Making Conservation Pay," EEPSEA Policy Brief pb1998091, Economy and Environment Program for Southeast Asia (EEPSEA), revised Sep 1998.
    6. Thur, Steven M., 2010. "User fees as sustainable financing mechanisms for marine protected areas: An application to the Bonaire National Marine Park," Marine Policy, Elsevier, vol. 34(1), pages 63-69, January.
    7. Chung, Jin Young & Kyle, Gerard T. & Petrick, James F. & Absher, James D., 2011. "Fairness of prices, user fee policy and willingness to pay among visitors to a national forest," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 32(5), pages 1038-1046.
    8. Dhakal, Bhubaneswor & Yao, Richard T. & Turner, James A. & Barnard, Tim, 2012. "Recreational users' willingness to pay and preferences for changes in planted forest features," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 17(C), pages 34-44.
    9. Baral, Nabin & Stern, Marc J. & Bhattarai, Ranju, 2008. "Contingent valuation of ecotourism in Annapurna conservation area, Nepal: Implications for sustainable park finance and local development," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2-3), pages 218-227, June.
    10. Ronald Maier, 2007. "Knowledge Management Systems," Springer Books, Springer, edition 0, number 978-3-540-71408-8, March.
    11. Michael Hanemann & John Loomis & Barbara Kanninen, 1991. "Statistical Efficiency of Double-Bounded Dichotomous Choice Contingent Valuation," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association, vol. 73(4), pages 1255-1263.
    12. Vincent, Jeffrey R & Carson, Richard T & DeShazo, JR & Schwabe, Kurt A & Ahmad, Ismariah & Chong, Siew Kook & Chang, Yii Tan & Potts, Matthew D, 2014. "Tropical countries may be willing to pay more to protect their forests," University of California at San Diego, Economics Working Paper Series qt3w77c50q, Department of Economics, UC San Diego.
    13. Muhammad-Sukki, Firdaus & Munir, Abu Bakar & Ramirez-Iniguez, Roberto & Abu-Bakar, Siti Hawa & Mohd Yasin, Siti Hajar & McMeekin, Scott G. & Stewart, Brian G., 2012. "Solar photovoltaic in Malaysia: The way forward," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 16(7), pages 5232-5244.
    14. Baral, Nabin & Dhungana, Anal, 2014. "Diversifying finance mechanisms for protected areas capitalizing on untapped revenues," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 41(C), pages 60-67.
    15. Juutinen, Artti & Mitani, Yohei & Mäntymaa, Erkki & Shoji, Yasushi & Siikamäki, Pirkko & Svento, Rauli, 2011. "Combining ecological and recreational aspects in national park management: A choice experiment application," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 70(6), pages 1231-1239, April.
    16. Tyrväinen, Liisa & Mäntymaa, Erkki & Ovaskainen, Ville, 2014. "Demand for enhanced forest amenities in private lands: The case of the Ruka-Kuusamo tourism area, Finland," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 47(C), pages 4-13.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Brian Witt, 2019. "Tourists’ Willingness to Pay Increased Entrance Fees at Mexican Protected Areas: A Multi-Site Contingent Valuation Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-22, May.
    2. Lal, Pankaj & Wolde, Bernabas & Masozera, Michel & Burli, Pralhad & Alavalapati, Janaki & Ranjan, Aditi & Montambault, Jensen & Banerjee, Onil & Ochuodho, Thomas & Mugabo, Rodrigue, 2017. "Valuing visitor services and access to protected areas: The case of Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 141-151.
    3. Shattuck, Clara & Poudyal, Neelam C. & Bowker, J.M. & Joshi, Omkar, 2022. "Differential values associated with outdoor recreational access among the wildlife management area permit holders," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 141(C).
    4. Hayati Ibrahim & Manohar Mariapan & Evelyn Lim Ai Lin & Sheena Bidin, 2021. "Wildlife Conservation through Economically Responsible Ecotourist: The Mediator Roles of Attitude between Anticipated Emotion and Intention to Stay in Local Homestays," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-16, August.
    5. Luo, Wen & Mineo, Keito & Matsushita, Koji & Kanzaki, Mamoru, 2018. "Consumer willingness to pay for modern wooden structures: A comparison between China and Japan," Forest Policy and Economics, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 84-93.
    6. Wei Fang & Gloria Rui Gou & Lewis T. O. Cheung & Lincoln Fok & Alice S. Y. Chow & Ke Zhang, 2024. "An Investigation of Willingness to Pay for Geopark Management and Conservation: A Case Study of Geotourists in the Greater China Region," Resources, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, February.
    7. Peng Li & Ming-Hsiang Chen & Ying Zou & Mark Beattie & Linsi He, 2018. "Factors Affecting Inn Operators’ Willingness to Pay Resource Protection Fees: A Case of Erhai Lake in China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 10(11), pages 1-23, November.
    8. Ionuț-Adrian Drăguleasa & Amalia Niță & Mirela Mazilu, 2023. "Capitalization of Tourist Resources in the Post-COVID-19 Period—Developing the Chorematic Method for Oltenia Tourist Destination, Romania," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(3), pages 1-31, January.
    9. Azdren Doli & Dastan Bamwesigye & Petra Hlaváčková & Jitka Fialová & Petr Kupec & Obed Asamoah, 2021. "Forest Park Visitors Opinions and Willingness to Pay for Sustainable Development of the Germia Forest and Recreational Park," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-16, March.
    10. Juita Saleha Nordin & Nitanan Koshy Matthew & Chong Leong Puan, 2023. "Public Willingness to Pay for an Entrance Fee to National Elephant Conservation Center (NECC), Peninsular Malaysia," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, October.
    11. Haefele, Michelle A. & Loomis, John B. & Lien, Aaron M. & Dubovsky, James A. & Merideth, Robert W. & Bagstad, Kenneth J. & Huang, Ta-Ken & Mattsson, Brady J. & Semmens, Darius J. & Thogmartin, Wayne E, 2019. "Multi-country Willingness to Pay for Transborder Migratory Species Conservation: A Case Study of Northern Pintails," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 157(C), pages 321-331.
    12. Johane Dikgang & Edwin Muchapondwa, 2017. "The determination of park fees in support of benefit sharing in Southern Africa," Tourism Economics, , vol. 23(6), pages 1165-1183, September.
    13. Jeanloz, Sarah & Lizin, Sebastien & Beenaerts, Natalie & Brouwer, Roy & Van Passel, Steven & Witters, Nele, 2016. "Towards a more structured selection process for attributes and levels in choice experiments: A study in a Belgian protected area," Ecosystem Services, Elsevier, vol. 18(C), pages 45-57.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Akoko, Peter Obuon & Gathungu, Edith & De Groote, Hugo, 2024. "Evaluating Smallholder Farmers’ Willingness to Pay for Improved Maize Dryers in Njoro Sub-County, Nakuru, Kenya," IAAE 2024 Conference, August 2-7, 2024, New Delhi, India 344279, International Association of Agricultural Economists (IAAE).
    2. Halkos, George E. & Jones, Nikoleta, 2012. "Modeling the effect of social factors on improving biodiversity protection," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 90-99.
    3. Wei Fang & Gloria Rui Gou & Lewis T. O. Cheung & Lincoln Fok & Alice S. Y. Chow & Ke Zhang, 2024. "An Investigation of Willingness to Pay for Geopark Management and Conservation: A Case Study of Geotourists in the Greater China Region," Resources, MDPI, vol. 13(2), pages 1-16, February.
    4. Kelley, Hugh & van Rensburg, Thomas M. & Jeserich, Nadine, 2016. "Determinants of demand for recreational walking trails in Ireland," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 52(C), pages 173-186.
    5. Genius, Margarita & Strazzera, Elisabetta, 2011. "Can unbiased be tighter? Assessment of methods to reduce the bias-variance trade-off in WTP estimation," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 33(1), pages 293-314, January.
    6. Kubo, Takahiro & Shoji, Yasushi & Tsuge, Takahiro & Kuriyama, Koichi, 2018. "Voluntary Contributions to Hiking Trail Maintenance: Evidence From a Field Experiment in a National Park, Japan," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 144(C), pages 124-128.
    7. Brian Witt, 2019. "Tourists’ Willingness to Pay Increased Entrance Fees at Mexican Protected Areas: A Multi-Site Contingent Valuation Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(11), pages 1-22, May.
    8. Lal, Pankaj & Wolde, Bernabas & Masozera, Michel & Burli, Pralhad & Alavalapati, Janaki & Ranjan, Aditi & Montambault, Jensen & Banerjee, Onil & Ochuodho, Thomas & Mugabo, Rodrigue, 2017. "Valuing visitor services and access to protected areas: The case of Nyungwe National Park in Rwanda," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 141-151.
    9. Steckenreuter, A. & Wolf, I.D., 2013. "How to use persuasive communication to encourage visitors to pay park user fees," Tourism Management, Elsevier, vol. 37(C), pages 58-70.
    10. Frédéric Salladarré & Dorothée Brécard & Sterenn Lucas & Pierrick Ollivier, 2016. "Are French consumers ready to pay a premium for eco-labeled seafood products? A contingent valuation estimation with heterogeneous anchoring," Agricultural Economics, International Association of Agricultural Economists, vol. 47(2), pages 247-258, March.
    11. Richard T. Carson & Miko_aj Czajkowski, 2014. "The discrete choice experiment approach to environmental contingent valuation," Chapters, in: Stephane Hess & Andrew Daly (ed.), Handbook of Choice Modelling, chapter 9, pages 202-235, Edward Elgar Publishing.
    12. Ebers Broughel, Anna, 2019. "On the ground in sunny Mexico: A case study of consumer perceptions and willingness to pay for solar-powered devices," World Development Perspectives, Elsevier, vol. 15(C), pages 1-1.
    13. Rong-Chang Jou & Yuan-Chan Wu & Ke-Hong Chen, 2011. "Analysis of the environmental benefits of a motorcycle idling stop policy at urban intersections," Transportation, Springer, vol. 38(6), pages 1017-1033, November.
    14. Schwarzinger, Michaël & Carrat, Fabrice & Luchini, Stéphane, 2009. ""If you have the flu symptoms, your asymptomatic spouse may better answer the willingness-to-pay question": Evidence from a double-bounded dichotomous choice model with heterogeneous anchori," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 28(4), pages 873-884, July.
    15. Henrik Andersson & James Hammitt & Gunnar Lindberg & Kristian Sundström, 2013. "Willingness to Pay and Sensitivity to Time Framing: A Theoretical Analysis and an Application on Car Safety," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 56(3), pages 437-456, November.
    16. Bounie, Nathan & Adoue, François & Koning, Martin & L'Hostis, Alain, 2019. "What value do travelers put on connectivity to mobile phone and Internet networks in public transport? Empirical evidence from the Paris region," Transportation Research Part A: Policy and Practice, Elsevier, vol. 130(C), pages 158-177.
    17. Satoshi Yamazaki & Steven Rust & Sarah Jennings & Jeremy Lyle & Sven Frijlink, 2013. "Valuing recreational fishing in Tasmania and assessment of response bias in contingent valuation," Australian Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, Australian Agricultural and Resource Economics Society, vol. 57(2), pages 193-213, April.
    18. Dmitriy Li & Meenakshi Rishi & Jeong Hwan Bae, 2023. "Regional Differences in Willingness to Pay for Mitigation of Air Pollution from Coal-Fired Power Plants in South Korea," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(24), pages 1-17, December.
    19. Watson, Verity & Ryan, Mandy, 2007. "Exploring preference anomalies in double bounded contingent valuation," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 463-482, May.
    20. P. Calia & E. Strazzera, 1998. "Bias and efficiency of single vs. double bound models for contingent valuation studies: a Monte Carlo Analysis," Working Paper CRENoS 199801, Centre for North South Economic Research, University of Cagliari and Sassari, Sardinia.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:forpol:v:56:y:2015:i:c:p:9-19. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/locate/forpol .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.