Measuring the economic value of nature and national parks: indirect valuations from travel cost method and tourism satellite accounts

This paper presents an approach to measuring nature-based economic values using both simple travel cost methodology and tourism satellite accounts estimating different areas under the demand curves. These methods were applied in a region in Norway where tourism has been founded predominantly on pristine alpine nature over the past 50 years and successively protected as six national parks. A survey of tourists enabled estimation of a simple individual travel cost model yielding the consumer surplus of tourists attributable to the attractiveness of the nature of the area. The tourists provided information on their main destination, trip frequency, knowledge and use of the park, and the impact of the national park tags. The survey information was also used in the tourism satellite accounts for the region, combined with information from accommodation providers and official statistics.