Recreation Demand Models Research Articles

A recreation demand model for warmwater fishing in Delaware with welfare effects for improvements in catch rates, species diversity, and water clarity

Abstract We estimate a recreation demand model for warmwater fishing in Delaware and then use it to measure welfare gains associated with improved fishing quality as measured by catch rate of fish, diversity of species, and clarity of water. We use a “linked” site choice – trip frequency model with data gathered by the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife. Our site choice model includes 118 rivers and lakes in the state with detailed characteristics of each. We develop hypothetical scenarios of fishing quality improvement involving combinations of fish catch, fish diversity, and water clarity and apply it to individual water bodies, water basins, selected water body groupings, and statewide. Values are reported in seasonal per angler and aggregate terms.

An innovative approach for equitable urban green space allocation through population demand and accessibility modeling

Urban green space (UGS) plays a pivotal role in enhancing citizens' living standards, well-being, and overall physical and mental health. As urbanization continues to progress, ensuring equitable access to UGS becomes increasingly vital in addressing the social resource disparities. This paper proposes an innovative approach to inform UGS planning and updates, placing a strong emphasis on equitable UGS distribution. In pursuit of a more balanced UGS layout, we present a novel recreational demand model that can evaluate the citizen's recreational preferences by taking into account the population activity levels and the agglomeration effect. Leveraging point of interest (POI) data within the geographic information system (GIS) platform, we quantitatively analyze these factors. Additionally, we propose a refined resistance model, enhancing the accuracy of UGS update cost estimation. Applying these models, we undertake a case study in Changsha City to advance UGS update strategies. Our findings reveal disparities not only across different city sectors but also within individual spaces, underscoring the unequal distribution of diverse UGS resources. The proposed models can effectively guide the incorporation of new UGS points in urban planning, mitigating the challenge of inequitable UGS resource allocation. The study provides a new approach to more comprehensively evaluate the UGS quality and offers additional valuable insights for improved UGS planning, and therefore, contributes to fostering a more just, inclusive and sustainable urban environment.

COVID-19 and visitation to Central Park, New York City.

Central Park is an iconic feature of New York City, which was the first and one of the hardest hit cities in the United States by the Coronavirus. State-level stay-at-home order, raising COVID-19 cases, as well as the public's personal concerns regarding exposure to the virus, led to a significant reduction of Central Park visitation. We utilized extensive cellphone tracking data to conduct one of the pioneering empirical studies assessing the economic impact of COVID-19 on urban parks. We integrated the difference-in-difference (DID) design with the recreation-demand model. The DID design aids in identifying the causal impacts, controlling for unobservable factors that might confound the treatment effects of interest. Concurrently, the recreational demand model examines the driving factors of visitation changes and enables us to estimate the welfare changes experienced by New York City's residents. Our findings shine a light on the substantial, yet often overlooked, welfare loss triggered by the pandemic. The analysis indicates that the pandemic resulted in a 94% reduction in visitation, corresponding to an annual consumer surplus loss of $450 million. We noted a rebound in visitation following the initial outbreak, influenced by shifts in government policy, weather conditions, holiday periods, and personal characteristics.

Water quality advisory impacts on recreation behaviour and associated economic costs

One of the major rationales for improving water quality is to increase the benefits and enjoyment of water-based recreation yet quantifying these behavioural responses and values remains challenging. We apply a recreation demand model using a large, multi-year data set on camping trips and water quality advisories across provincial parks in Alberta. The recreation data includes information on over 447,000 trips by 225,700 individuals over a five-year period. We use a nested logit model to understand people’s recreation choices to one of 76 campgrounds. We find that the presence of a water quality advisory has a negative impact on the likelihood of visiting an affected campground. On the one hand, this suggests that advisories work in limiting human contact with unsafe water, but these behavioural changes also carry economic costs. We estimate that the welfare costs of a beach advisory are $14 per camping trip. We use the model to evaluate the welfare impacts of removing all beach advisories. These results can be used to inform the design of policies aimed to improve lake water quality.

Biodiversity Benefits of Birdwatching Using Citizen Science Data and Individualized Recreational Demand Models

Biodiversity Benefits of Birdwatching Using Citizen Science Data and Individualized Recreational Demand Models

Disparities in economic values for nature-based activities in Canada

Differential impacts of policies or changes in environmental conditions on people is a growing area of interest to decision-makers, yet remains an often neglected area of study for the environmental valuation literature. Using data from a large national survey of over 24,000 people conducted in Canada, this paper implements a latent class Kuhn-Tucker recreation demand model to assess differences in preferences and values for nature-based activities. Preferences are disaggregated by self-reported Indigeneity, immigration status, and gender. We find that Indigenous people receive 63% greater benefits from participating in nature-based activities compared to non-Indigenous people living in Canada. Immigrants have the lowest participation in, and benefits associated with, nature-based activities. Similarly, women receive 21% lesser benefits associated with nature-based activities when compared to men. These results demonstrate that Indigenous peoples may be more vulnerable to adverse impacts on nature-based activities such as land-use changes, climate change, and government policies. The study also highlights the importance of disaggregated data and incorporating aspects of identity in the ecosystem service literature towards more equitable decision-making and reconciliation.

A travel cost recreation demand model examining the economic benefits of acid mine drainage remediation to trout anglers.

Acid mine drainage (AMD) is a global environmental problem which has well-documented effects on the physical, chemical, biological, and ecological characteristics of waterways. Less well examined are the economic benefits generated by costly AMD remediation efforts. This research examines trout angler willingness-to-pay (WTP) to maintain fisheries quality benefits resulting from AMD remediation on the North Branch of the Potomac River (NBPR), Maryland. The NBPR has a history of severe AMD-related degradation previously rendering the waterbody unsuitable for many outdoor recreational activities such as trout fishing. However, extensive NBPR AMD remediation activities including nine automated limestone dosers that neutralize acidic water and improve water quality have been critical to developing and maintaining a high quality recreational trout fishery with hatchery-raised stocked trout and naturally reproducing populations of wild trout. To examine trout angler WTP to maintain current NBPR trout fishing quality and hence avoid plausible fishing quality reductions associated with the elimination of nine NBPR limestone dosers, a travel cost recreation demand model of trout angler fishing site choice was developed using data from a survey of Maryland non-tidal anglers. Model results reveal that annual Maryland trout angler WTP to maintain current NBPR trout stocking levels and wild trout abundance, relative to the elimination of the NBPR as a trout fishing site, is about $850,000. These economic benefits to a single stakeholder group - Maryland trout anglers - exceeds the total estimated $340,000 in annual operations and maintenance costs associated with all Maryland limestone dosers. While the positive net economic benefits produced by limestone dosers provide a justification for continuing annual limestone doser expenditures, it's important to note that total economic benefits are likely much higher, as many non-trout fishing benefits remain unaccounted for in this analysis. The approach in this manuscript can serve as a model for practitioners regarding the use of fisheries data and recreational fisher site choice to estimate fishing-related economic benefits from past or for future AMD remediation activities. Given anticipated substantial investments in AMD remediation, additional research in this area is much needed to evaluate past and guide future remediation activities.

Temporal Reliability of Contingent Behavior Trip Data in Kuhn-Tucker Recreation Demand Models

Temporal Reliability of Contingent Behavior Trip Data in Kuhn-Tucker Recreation Demand Models

Using economic experiments to assess the validity of stated preference contingent behavior responses

Contingent behavior (CB), a stated preference (SP) method, elicits individuals’ intentions about behavior in quantities or frequencies under hypothetical scenarios. CB has primarily been used to elicit preferences in recreation demand models or to assess market demand. Although CB shares the hypothetical nature of other SP methods, there has been limited assessment of CB validity and incentive compatibility. Focusing on hypothetical bias and framing effects, we design an incentive-compatible decision mechanism that examines the validity of CB in economic experiments. We find hypothetical bias associated with an overstatement of quantities in CB responses, but the overstatement does not appear to arise from strategic behavior. We also find that overstating quantities is not significantly affected by framing, but framing does affect the convergence of CB and revealed preference responses. These findings raise questions about the validity CB research and its demand revealing properties but provide some avenues to address these concerns.

A more comprehensive estimate of the value of water quality

The estimated marginal cost of U.S. water pollution control often exceeds its marginal benefit. We provide intuition, theory and empirical evidence suggesting that the hedonic property model—a common revealed-preference approach to valuing pollution control—may not capture water’s recreational benefits. Using the case of Tampa Bay, Florida, we estimate willingness to pay (WTP) for water quality improvements by combining a recreation demand model with a hedonic property model. Results indicate that homeowners have significant WTP for both local and regional recreational water quality improvements and suggest that prior hedonic studies may underestimate the benefits of water pollution control.

Trip Equivalency for Economic Valuation in Recreation Demand Models: Implications for Compensatory Restoration and Benefits Transfer

Trip Equivalency for Economic Valuation in Recreation Demand Models: Implications for Compensatory Restoration and Benefits Transfer

The Effect of Including Irrelevant Alternatives in Discrete Choice Models of Recreation Demand

The Effect of Including Irrelevant Alternatives in Discrete Choice Models of Recreation Demand

The Value of Greenspace Under Pandemic\xa0Lockdown

The COVID-19 outbreak resulted in unprecedented restrictions on citizen’s freedom of movement as governments moved to institute lockdowns designed to reduce the spread of the virus. While most out-of-home leisure activities were prohibited, in England the lockdown rules allowed for restricted use of outdoor greenspace for the purposes of exercise and recreation. In this paper, we use data recorded by Google from location-enabled mobile devices coupled with a detailed recreation demand model to explore the welfare impacts of those constraints on leisure activities. Our analyses reveals evidence of large-scale substitution of leisure time towards recreation in available greenspaces. Indeed, despite the restrictions the economic value of greenspace to the citizens of England fell by only £150 million over lockdown. Examining the outcomes of counterfactual policies we find that the imposition of stricter lockdown rules would have reduced welfare from greenspace by £1.14 billion. In contrast, more relaxed lockdown rules would have delivered an aggregate increase in the economic value of greenspace equal to £1.47 billion.

Economic Values of Coastal Erosion Management: Joint Estimation of Use and Existence Values with recreation demand and contingent valuation data

Revealed and stated preference survey data from North Carolina households are utilized to estimate structural micro-econometric models of recreation demand and willingness-to-pay (WTP) for coastal erosion management among beach visitors and non-visitors. We test for and reject weak complementarity, implying existence values associated with management of North Carolina’s beaches. We find stronger preferences for shoreline retreat (median WTP = $22.20 per household, per year) as a management strategy relative to beach nourishment (WTP = $7.91), and we find substantially weaker preferences for shoreline armoring (WTP = $0.09). Shoreline retreat exhibits much larger estimates of existence values, whereas existence values for shoreline armoring are negative. Our data permit estimates of marginal value of incremental beach width accruing to beach users and non-users (which range from $0.23 and $0.48 per meter).

Best Practices for Implementing Recreation Demand Models

AbstractThis article discusses best practices for implementing recreation demand models. We focus on insights that research and experience provide for the typical recreation application, where the ...

Hitchhikers on floats to Arctic freshwater: Private aviation and recreation loss from aquatic invasion

This study of aviation-related recreation loss shows that a survey primarily aimed at collecting information on invasive species’ pathways can also be used to estimate changes in pathway-related ecosystem services. We present a case study for Elodea spp. (elodea), Alaska’s first known aquatic invasive plant, by combining respondents’ stated pre-invasion actual flights with stated post-invasion contingent behavior, plane operating costs, and site quality data. We asked pilots about the extent of continued flights should destinations become invaded and inhibit flight safety. We estimate a recreation demand model where the lost trip value to the average floatplane pilot whose destination is an elodea-invaded lake is US$185 (95 % CI $157, $211). Estimates of ecosystem damages incurred by private actors responsible for transmitting invaders can nudge actors to change behavior and inform adaptive ecosystem management. The policy and modeling implications of quantifying such damages and integration into more complex models are discussed.

The Effect of Site Congestion on Valuing Freshwater Fishing for Urban Residents

This paper provides evidence that welfare estimates from recreation demand models can be severely biased if the model omits congestion effects. Congestion effects arise when crowding at popular sites lowers site values. Measuring the effect of congestion is complicated by a well-known endogeneity problem in revealed preference data. We study congestion effects in a sample of licensed anglers in Oklahoma City. We develop a site choice model of freshwater fishing, and correct for endogenous congestion using an instrumental variables strategy. Our results add to the growing weight of evidence that ignoring congestion leads to estimates that understate the value of individual sites and site amenities.

Tourists’ travel time values using discrete choice models: the recreational value of the Teide National Park

The value of travel time is one of the most important factors in recreation demand models. Traditionally, the most common approach for its calculation has been the use of different proportions of the wage rate; however, criticisms of this method abound because in a recreational trip the relevant measure is the opportunity cost of leisure time rather than work time. In this paper, we adopt a novel approach in the literature using discrete choice models based on short-term decisions and independent of the labor market. We obtain the value of travel time through the trade-off between time and money considered by the tourist visitors when choosing the transport mode and we present the first calculation of the recreational value of the Teide National Park. Specifically, using a Revealed Preference survey of 801 park visitors, we estimate Mixed Logit models accounting for random preference heterogeneity, derive travel time values and incorporate them into a Zonal Travel Cost Method. This approach allows us to estimate different time values depending on transport mode and stage of the trip and shows that the use of discrete choice models instead of the wage rate approach has a strong impact on the recreational value calculated.

Valuing recreational salmon fishing at a remote site in Finland: A travel cost analysis

The River Teno is the most visited river for recreational wild salmon fishing in Finland and is one of the most productive wild salmon rivers in Northern Europe. Despite the popularity of recreational fishing in the area, no estimates are available for its economic value. This study uses a travel cost recreation demand model to estimate the recreational value of salmon fishing in the Teno river area. Following a two-step estimation procedure outlined by McConnell, we show that on-site time per trip is endogenous. The estimated consumer surplus per trip ranges from 235 to 338 euros. The estimated total recreational value of salmon fishing in the area is 2.6–3.7 million euros. Also, according to the empirical results, the number of fishing trips per angler is strongly affected by the angler’s previous salmon catch in the Teno river area, which underlines the importance of the proper and sustainable management of recreational salmon fisheries.

Estimating the value of lost recreation days from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

The 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico was the largest ever in U.S. waters, eclipsing the 1989 Exxon Valdez spill in terms of the sheer quantity of oil released and the scale and scope of activities impacted. We developed a recreation demand model to monetize economic damages associated with lost shoreline recreational user days attributable to the spill. The unprecedented magnitude of the spill disruption led to a variety of innovations. We estimate a model of shoreline recreation trips to the Gulf Coast region from the general population of the contiguous U.S., combining single and multiple-day trips, calculating travel costs that incorporate detailed information on flying costs and transportation mode choice, and using alternative-specific constants to control for site characteristics. Losses per recreational user day are assessed using utility adjustments that reproduce the decline in recreation observed through onsite counts. Sensitivity analyses demonstrate our lost user day value is robust to changes in income imputation, nesting structure, site aggregation and spill calibration, and show the importance of accounting for flying as a mode choice. Estimated losses from the primary shoreline study are $520 million (±166) out of the total recreational damages of $661 million (2015$).