Valuing lobster for Maine coastal tourism: methodological considerations

A major issue for travel and tourism practitioners, researchers and governmental leaders are determining the value of the experiences deliverable via destination assets. We hypothesize that Maine's ‘lobster culture’ (lobster cuisine, lobster fishing, lobster fishing villages) is an important part of the coastal Maine tourist experience and that Maine's coastal tourism industry relies on the presence of an active lobster fishery for its economic success. This paper proposes a method for valuing the lobster fishery asset in Maine for its coastal tourism trade by valuing the experiences that are derivable from it, namely lobster cuisine and the lobster industry and village culture. This specific project is part of a larger program to measure the economic value of the lobster fishing industry to the economy of Maine. This paper considers and outlines a specific rationale and choice of methods for assessing the value of that industry for Maine's tourism economy.