The Economic Value of Camping Using Administrative Data

https://dx.doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.302498

Lloyd-Smith, P., & Becker, M. (2020). The Economic Value of Camping Using Administrative Data. Journal of Agricultural and Resource Economics, 45(3), 445-461. https://dx.doi.org/10.22004/ag.econ.302498

This paper implements a seasonal travel cost model using administrative data from an online
camping reservation system on over 71,500 individuals taking 144,000 trips to 68 campgrounds
in Alberta, Canada. Using a Kuhn–Tucker modeling framework, the per trip welfare impacts of
campground closures ranges from $46 to $144. The substantial heterogeneity in welfare measures
across campgrounds in per trip welfare measures for the same recreational activity in the same
jurisdiction raises caution about the use of simple unit transfers of recreation values. Furthermore,
we assess how the value of campground trips is associated with park attributes, campground
amenities, and available activities nearby