Willingness to pay for the conservation of recreational services in a National Park : a case study at Kirirom National Park, Cambodia | |
| Author | Phat Chandara |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.NR-15-10 |
| Subject(s) | Visitors, Foreign--Cambodia Tourism--Cambodia Kirirom National Park (Cambodia) |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Natural Resources Management, School of Environment, Resources and Development |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis ; no. NR-15-10 |
| Abstract | Kirirom National Park in Cambodia has been recognised by IUCN as one of the most important habitat for maintenance of biodiversity in Cambodia. Currently, that national park has not yet been recognized as mainstream tourism destination. Recreational services in the park could be improved. This study investigated the characteristics (attributes) of the national park that visitors would be willing to pay for, using of choice experiment. The results of focus group meetings and additional individual meetings indicated four attributes of the NP could be improved to provide better services to the visitors. The four attributes were removing the amount of litter in the forest, improvement of trail condition, increasing opportunity to see bird and wild animal and protection of forest landmass. Then a choice experiment was developed and applied to 350 respondents. The results of the choice experiment found significantly positive WTP for these 4 attributes. They also showed a high heterogeneity in the population for these WTP. In particular, WTP of low income respondent is significantly lower on protection of forest landmass and removing the amount of litter in the forest. Moreover, the WTP of married respondent is significantly higher on increasing opportunity to see bird and wild animal. Then, the WTP of higher income respondent is significantly lower on improvement of trail condition. |
| Keyword | Visitor Perception; Visitor Characteristic; Willingness to Pay (WTP); National Park |
| Year | 2015 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis ; no. NR-15-10 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development |
| Department | Department of Development and Sustainability (DDS) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Natural Resources Management (NRM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Jourdain, Damien ; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Shrestha, Rajendra Prasad;Grunbuhel, Clemens; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Deutscher Akademischer Austausch Dienst (DAAD), Germany;Asian Institute of Technology Fellowship; |
| Degree | Thesis (M.Sc.) - Asian Institute of Technology, 2015 |