Can conservation in protected areas and visitor preferences converge? An empirical study in Central Chile
Abstract
The assessment of visitors’ willingness to pay (WTP) to achieve scenarios that
guarantee good conservation status in protected areas and that positively contribute to visitor
experience is crucial to revealing the potential to harmonize the development of naturebased
tourism and the conservation of biodiversity. We estimated visitors’ WTP for a variety
of environmental attributes in a protected area in a biodiversity hotspot in central Chile.
Using a choice experiment (CE), WTP was estimated for the protection of animals, plants,
and soil; for guaranteeing the provision of ecosystem services related to water resources;
and for increasing touristic infrastructure. Among animals and plants, the marginal mean
WTP/visitor/visit for single levels of variation in the attribute ranged from ~ US $1.4 (for
herbaceous species) to ~ US $7 (for birds). The WTP for soil protection in camping areas
and walking trails reached a mean of ~ US $2.8. The mean WTP for guaranteeing the provision
of water benefits ranged from US $− 1.98 (for activities such as hydroelectricity and
mining) to ~ US $5.6 (for the conservation of biodiversity and ecological processes). Small
increases in infrastructure for recreation are well accepted by visitors (a mean WTP of US
$1.50) compared to medium or large increases, which generate a negative WTP. Our results
indicate that the protected area conservation and visitor preferences can converge. Broader
assessments that include multiple biological attributes have emerged as useful approaches
in designing management strategies for protected areas that align with conservation goals
and visitor preferences.
Materias
Willingness to payNature based tourism
Protected areas
Soil
Vegetation
Less popular biodiversity
Origen
Biodivers Conserv (2018) 27:1431–1451https://doi.org/10.1007/s10531-018-1501-6
https://repositorio.uchile.cl/handle/2250/150070
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