Estimation of Tourists’ Willingness to Pay in Ba Vi National Park: Choice Experiment Method

Abstract

Payment for forest environmental services is one of Vietnam’s most successful policies in socializing forest protection in particular and environmental protection in general. However, the application of this policy in the field of tourism is limited. This study employs Choice Experiment Method to estimate tourists’ willingness to pay in order to provide a scientific basis for the application of this policy in Ba Vi National Park. The results show that 74% of tourists agreed with an increase in the entrance fee and in the room rate to contribute to the implementation of the policy. Specifically, tourists were willing to pay roughly VND 37,000 more (equivalent to 61% of the current rate) for the entrance and roughly VND 181,000 (equivalent to 24% of the average rate) as an increase in the room rate.