A willingness to pay for the entry fee study was conducted in the largest protected area in Nepal using the contingent valuation method. The results indicate that international tourists are willing to pay far more than the current entry fee. The implications on the financial sustainability of the park are discussed.

1. Tourists’ Willingness
to Pay for Entry Fees
to the Annapurna
Conservation Area,
Nepal
C. Wrobel, A. Kozlowski
International Himalayan Policy Research
Conference 2012
Madison, WI

2. Study Overview
 Assessed international tourists’ willingness-to-pay for the
entrance fee to the Annapurna Conservation Area, Nepal
 Used the contingent valuation method to determine
willingness-to-pay
 Influence of environmental attitude, behaviour and commitment
 Implications for park management and the financial
sustainability of the park
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

3. Protected Areas
Figure 1. Growth in nationally designated protected areas from 1872-2008.
(UNEP-WCMC, 2009)
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

4. (Font et al., 2004)
Figure 2. Essentials for protected area survival and success.
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

5. Financial Costs and Shortfalls of
Protected Areas
20
billions/year)
16
Cost (US $
12
8
Developing Countries
4
Global
0
Actual Effective Expanded
Spending on Management Protected
Protected of Protected Area System
Areas Areas (Source: Birdlife International, 2008)
Figure 3. Estimated costs of protected area conservation in developing countries and globally.
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

6. Revenue Generation Through
Entrance Fees
Strong Demand
User Fees Health of Protected Areas
 Proportional to cost Sustainable  Visitor use balanced
of managing impacts Visitation with impacts
and ability to pay
Tourism
Management
Capacity (Drumm, 2003)
Figure 4. Virtuous cycle of tourism user fees in a positive impact loop.
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

7. Study Area: Annapurna
Conservation Area, Nepal
Annapurna
Conservation
Area
(Wallcoo, 2008)
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

8. Regional Tourism Trends
100,000
Number of Tourists
80,000
60,000
40,000
Number of
20,000 Tourists
0
Year
(ACAP, 2009; NTNC, 2011)
Figure 5. International tourist arrivals in the Annapurna Conservation Area, 1996 to 2010.
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

9. Objective
 To assess international tourists’ willingness-to-pay for
entry to the Annapurna Conservation Area
 To assess the influence of environmental attitudes,
behaviour and commitment on willingness-to-pay
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

10. Contingent Valuation and
Willingness-to-pay
 Contingent Valuation:  Major Strengths:
 Direct valuation method  Widely applicable
 Survey instrument  Potential to incorporate
into cost-benefit analyses
 Hypothetical market
 Measures willingness-  Major Weaknesses:
 Potential biases
to-pay
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusion

11. Survey Instrument and Valuation
 Written questionnaire
• Dichotomous choice questions
• 5-point Likert scale statements
• Open-ended questions
 Bidding sequence valuation questions
 Random bid amounts: USD 30, 50, 70, 90, 110
 Pearson chi-square
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

12. Environmental Indices
 Modified New Environmental Paradigm (NEP) scale
 5-point Likert scale
 3 indices:
1. Environmental attitude
2. Environmental behaviour
3. Environmental commitment
 Summed scores
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

13. Willingness-to-pay
Current Study: Baral et al. (2008):
 101 respondents  315 respondents
 Bidding sequence  Single-bound referendum
elicitation method elicitation method
 Mean = 71.63 USD  Mean = 69.2 USD
 Median = 60.00 USD  Median = 74.3 USD
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

14. Descriptive Frequencies
 53.5% female; 46.5% male South
America
Israel, 5%
2%
 71.3% paid to enter a Australia Asia, 1%
protected area before & New
Zealand,
15.80%
 92% rated trekking most Europe,
important motivation North 55.40%
America,
20.80%
 92.1% rated experience in
area as positive
Figure 6. International visitors to the
Annapurna Conservation Area by
 32.6% hired a guide country of origin
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

15. Environmental Commitment
Table 1. Descriptive statistics of the environmental attitude
(EA), environmental behaviour (EB), and environmental
commitment (EAB) indices.
EA EB EAB
(out of 30) (out of 15) (out of 45)
Sample Size 101 101 101
Mean 24.3 11.8 36.14
Median 25.0 12.0 37.0
Standard Deviation 3.4 2.3 4.96
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

16. Tourists’ Ratings of the Area
 Conditions of
environment:
 31.7% as “average”
 41.6% as "good”  Signage and information
provided:
 14.9% as “excellent”  18.8% as “poor”
 37.6% as “average”
 30.7% as “good”
 9.9% as “excellent”
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

17. Limitations
 Sample size
 Potential starting point bias
 Truncation of the upper bid limit
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

18. Conclusions
 Tourists generally willing to pay considerably more than the current
entrance fee of USD 27
 Neither environmental attitude, behaviour or commitment found to
significantly influence willingness-to-pay
 Need for greater dissemination of information
 Increased funds for conservation and development projects may initiate the
positive feedback loop
 Need to focus future efforts on the implementation of better pricing
strategies and monitoring with adaptive management
Introduction Background Objective Approach Results Conclusions

19. Thank You

20. Acknowledgements
 The authors would like to thank:
 all of the participants of this study who took the time to fill out the survey
and answer the valuation questions;
 the staff at ACAP and the staff at the NTNC for providing information for
this study;
 Ryerson International for assisting with funding to conduct this study;
 Dr. M. Bardecki at Ryerson University for his valuable comments and for
organizing and leading the International Field Research Course during
which time this study was conducted.