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Understanding Tourists’ Willingness-to-Pay for Rural Landscape Improvement and Preference Heterogeneity

Author

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  • Li Cong

    (School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China)

  • Yujun Zhang

    (School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China)

  • Ching-Hui (Joan) Su

    (Department of Apparel, Events, and Hospitality Management, College of Human Sciences, Iowa State University, Ames, IA 50011-1078, USA)

  • Ming-Hsiang Chen

    (School of Hospitality Business Management, Carson College of Business, Washington State University, Pullman, WA 99164-4742, USA
    College of Tourism and Landscape Architecture, Guilin University of Technology, Guilin 541006, China
    School of Business Administration, Anhui University of Finance and Economics, Bengbu 233030, China)

  • Jinnan Wang

    (School of Landscape Architecture, Beijing Forestry University, Beijing 100083, China)

Abstract

With the vigorous development of urbanization and rural tourism, the landscape of villages and towns has undergone tremendous changes under the influence of policies and industries. In order to avoid irreversible changes in the local heritage landscape and promote local sustainable development, it is necessary to strengthen the attention and research on the rural recreation landscape. This research examines the value of rural landscape recreation by applying the choice experiment method (CEM) to a suburban area in Sichuan, China. Mixed logit models were adopted in examining tourists’ willingness-to-pay (WTP) for rural landscape improvement and preference heterogeneity. An assessment of the rural landscape’s recreational value was made using the compensating surplus calculation method. Results reported are of four important landscape elements: ecological environment, rural life and associated productive landscape, rural housing, and service landscape, ranked by tourists from high-to-low. A major finding of the research is that an increase in rural tourism is dependent upon improvements to landscape elements. The results of this research can provide policymakers with valuable information necessary to develop a successful plan to attract and increase tourism in rural areas of China.

Suggested Citation

  • Li Cong & Yujun Zhang & Ching-Hui (Joan) Su & Ming-Hsiang Chen & Jinnan Wang, 2019. "Understanding Tourists’ Willingness-to-Pay for Rural Landscape Improvement and Preference Heterogeneity," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(24), pages 1-20, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:11:y:2019:i:24:p:7001-:d:295467
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