Recreational Value Assessment of Phuhin Rongkla National Park by Contingent Valuation Method

Abstract

The principal objective of the study was to assess the recreational value of Phuhin Rongkla National Park by contingent valuation method. The using data were gathered by interviewing 626 sampled tourists. The results indicated that the respondents were male (60.38 %), their ages were ranging from 21-30 years (39.78 %), holding bachelor degree (57.51 %), their income was 5,001-10,000 baht/month (25.56 %), and this was the first visit of the most (57.19 %), numbers of traveling group member was 3-5 (32.27 %), the length of stay was 2 days per trip (69.81%), traveling cost per trip was 251-500 baht (33.23 %). The willingness to pay for the entrance fee of the national park was 20 baht (40.73 %). Factors significantly related to the willingness to pay at the .05 level were average income, age, traveling cost per trip, and numbers of traveling group members. The average willingness to pay for the entrance fee was 30 baht per head. The recreational value of the national park was 2.33 million baht per year, and the recreational value under the sustainable management pattern was 42.45 million baht. The results of the study praised the valuable information for the related agencies to be used as a guideline for allocating the optimal budget for operating the various recreational activities namely maintaining the national park area, natural resource conservation, natural recreation site, and historical recreation site.