Visitor Willingness to Pay using Travel Cost Method at Taman Negeri Gunung Stong, Kuala Krai, Kelantan

¹ Faculty of Earth Science, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan, Malaysia
² Forest Research Institute Malaysia, 52109 Kepong, Selangor, Malaysia
³ Faculty of Forestry and Environment, Universiti Putra Malaysia, 43400 Serdang Selangor, Malaysia
⁴ Faculty of Business, Economics and Social Development, Universiti Malaysia Terengganu, 21030 Kuala Nerus Terengganu, Malaysia

^* Corresponding author: hizami.h@umk.edu.my

Abstract

Forest Park Recreation is a place that offers a vast experience and scenic views to visitors. However, there isn't a proper market transaction for ecosystem services, so it might not be reflected in market transactions. Therefore, it's critical to consider travel and time expenses when determining what individuals value in the absence of a market price. This study aims to estimate the visitor's willingness to pay for forest park recreation using the Travel Cost Method (TCM) at Taman Negeri Gunung Stong, Kuala Krai, Kelantan. A convenience sampling technique is employed in this study. The data was collected from 379 respondents using face-to-face interviews with the visitors who entered the park. The TCM result revealed that the recreational value at TNGS is RM 1,286,531.80 per year, with a mean of the willingness to pay value is RM4.34 per visitor. The regression analysis results indicated that gender, age, income, total travel cost and time access to the site are the variable effects on the willingness to pay and visit people to the forest park. The findings of this study could be an effective instrument for raising the standard of environmental services and enhancing the infrastructure and services in the studied area.