Pricing ecological beauty under Dichotomous choice framework: the case of Taman Negara national park in Malaysia

Taman Negara is Malaysia’s premier national park and the largest in the country covering over 4343 square kilometers (434,300 hectares) of primary forest, spans across three states Kelantan, Terengganu and Pahang - and is situated in the center of the Peninsula Malaysia. It is home to much wildlife and is a popular tourist attraction to both local and foreign tourists. This study attempts to determine the economic value of Taman Negara National Park by eliciting visitors’ willingness to pay (WTP) using contingent valuation method followed by single bounded dichotomous choices. A stepwise backward binary multivariate logistic regression model was used to measure WTP and to determine the factors that influence the variation in WTP. Primary data were obtained from 368 local and foreign visitors who have been interviewed in TN Park. The study found that both local and foreign visitors were willing to pay more than the current charges for entrance permit and nature based activities provided by TN Park. On average visitors are willing to pay for entrance permit RM 16.71 ($ 5.4) per person. The existing rate is RM 1 ($ 0.32) per person. Beside, WTP for all other activities such as fishing license, camera license, camping fee, canopy walkway and hide fee is much higher than the existing rates. The optimum pricing strategy should be a combination of policy objectives and information gathered from local and foreign visitors on WTP. In conclusion, this study can be used as a tool for revising pricing policies on TN national park in Malaysia. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.4038/suslj.v11i1.5888 Sabaragamuwa University Journal 2012; V. 11 No. 1 pp 75-93