Willingness to pay for trips in Romanian parks. Evidence from a case study

Abstract

This study provides information about tourists’ willingness to pay for trips in Romanian national and natural parks. The contingent valuation method is used to determine the willingness to pay for trips taken in the parks for increases in travel costs. Responses to valuation questions are used as data in econometric models to estimate individual benefits. Bucegi Natural Park has the lowest values, while Portile de Fier Natural Park has the highest values. Domogled National Park and Piatra Craiului have similar values. The median willingness to pay per trip differ among parks, but per day values reveal different results due to the calculation based on the average trip length. Per day values are similar for Bucegi, Domogled and Portile de Fier, respectively individuals are WTP on average 13.52 RON, 13.43 RON and 14.77 RON per day. At Cozia and Piatra Craiului, people are willing to pay on average more than for the other three parks, respectively 26.97 RON and 29.57 RON. Results indicate that the contingent valuation method is a proper instrument to determine the benefits of the Romanian parks. This study contributes not only with information for park managers but also as a starting point for more detailed valuation studies.