Estimating Recreational Value of Hasht Behesht Park Using Contingent Valuation Method (CV)

Value of tourism and recreation are direct values of the forest ecosystem and parks, which include the use of parks and forest for recreation, leisure, hiking, and aesthetic. In this study, Hasht Behesht Park recreational value and willingness to pay (WTP) is defined and measured by using contingent valuation method (CV) and Double-bounded dichotomous choice (DDC). For measuring the willingness to pay, logit model is used and based on maximum likelihood; the parameters of the model are estimated. 230 questionnaires were collected during three month. Proposals in 2000, 3000 and 4000 Rials that respectively suggested low, middle and high pay for visitors were considered. First the middle payment was proposed and if the answer was negative, suggested low price, and in the case of positive answer, suggested the higher price. Results show that the variables of individual income, household income, education, quality of parks, value of environment has had a positive effect on willingness to pay. The age and distance of house from the park, are negative relationship with interest to pay. Average willingness to pay for recreational value of the park was 2618 Rials for each visit and the average annual household willingness to pay for visit the park 106814/4 Rials is obtained.