Drivers of Willingness to Pay in a National Water Conservancy Scenic Spot from a Perceived Value Perspective: A Case Study of Nanjing

Abstract

This study considers Jinniu Lake (JNL), the biggest artificial lake and National Water Conservancy Scenic Spot (WCSS) in Nanjing, as an example to analyze the determinants of tourists’ willingness to pay (WTP) and satisfaction, as well as their pro-environmental behavior from a ‘tourist perceived value’ perspective (i.e., function, emotional, social, and epistemic), and then estimate the non-use value of JNL using the contingent valuation method (CVM). A total of 321 valid responses to questionnaires were analyzed using structural equation modeling (SEM) with the obtained results indicating the following: (1) JNL possesses a relatively high non-use value, influenced by emotional value, function value, social value, and epistemic value. (2) Satisfaction mediates the relationships between perceived value and WTP. (3) Education level, monthly travel frequency, and past visit frequency are all significantly positively correlated with WTP. In conclusion, strengthening tourists’ emotional and functional identification within destinations is conducive to improving visitor satisfaction and inspiring their pro-environmental behavior, ultimately feeding back into the development of the scenic area through WTP, achieving imitable ecological–economic circular development.