Understanding geopark visitors' preferences and willingness to pay for global geopark management and conservation

Ting On Lewis CHEUNG, Lincoln FOK, Wei FANG

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlespeer-review

33 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

This study investigated the preferences and willingness to pay (WTP) of geopark visitors by employing the contingent valuation method (CVM). A total of 648 responses were collected through questionnaire survey to obtain information on geopark visitors' preferences and their WTP for a geopark visit. The results of principal component analysis indicated that geopark visitors' preferences could be categorised into two groups. One group was about the intrinsic value of the geopark, and the other group was the extrinsic facilities. The results of cluster analysis classified two groups of geopark visitors showing different preferences of geopark visits. The CVM results found that geopark visitors are generally willing to pay an admission fee for a geopark visit, and the mean WTP was HK$134.91 (US$17.3), implying that they are willing to shoulder the financial support for geopark management and conservation. Geopark visitors' demographic attributes and preferences were significantly associated with WTP. The findings provide important information for geopark managers for planning and marketing of geotourism. Copyright © 2014 Routledge.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)35-51
JournalJournal of Ecotourism
Volume13
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2014

Citation

Cheung, L. T. O., Fok, L, & Fang, W. (2014). Understanding geopark visitors' preferences and willingness to pay for global geopark management and conservation. Journal of Ecotourism, 13(1), 35-51.

Keywords

  • Geotourism
  • Geopark
  • Geopark visitor
  • Preference
  • Willingness to pay

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