Value of recreation utility of the Polish Baltic coast – willingness to pay or willingness to declare?

Abstract

The idea of improving the quality of the Baltic Sea enjoys common understanding and acceptance. An implementation of this idea requires a cost benefit analysis in order to define the correct scope of intervention. Monetary valuation of the benefits arising from the quality improvement was conducted for the Baltic Sea with the use of contingent valuation method, choice experiments, and travel cost method. Crucial sources for such valuation were the stated preferences of the respondents. Availability of ex-post data describing the occupancy rate of the swimming sites on the Polish stretch of the Baltic coast, collected for four consecutive years, makes it possible to compare two concepts i.e. the ex-ante declarations concerning willingness to use high quality environment and the actual consumers’ choices. The results reveal serious discrepancies between the ex-ante and ex-post methods.