Abstract:

The willingness to pay (WTP) values of the conservation of old and famous trees in Jiuhua Mountain Scenic Area was measured by contingent valuation method (CVM),and theier influence factors were analyzed.The payment card and singlebounded dichotomous choice question formats were used,which were more popular than the others of the contingent valuation method. The results indicated that 838% of the respondents thought that we ought to protect old and famous trees,while only 302% of the respondents were satisfied with the current situation. Under the payment card format,the mean WTP value of conserving old and famous trees in Jiuhua Mountain Scenic Area was RMB 808 yuan per capita per month and the total economic value was 1500×108 yuan for the tourists of Jiuhua Mountain Scenic Area in 2010.Under singlebounded dichotomous choice format,the mean value of WTP to old and famous trees conservation in Jiuhua Mountain Scenic Area was 954 yuan per capita per month and the total economic value was 4598×108 yuan.The significant variables of influencing the result of the payment card are age,education,annual income and vocation, while the main factor for the singlebounded dichotomous choice format was annual income.Comparing this result to that of the first study three months ago,the WTP of PC2 was higher than PC1 with 062 yuan per capita per month,while the WTP of DC2 was higher than DC1 with 173 yuan per capita per month.There was no significant discrepancy between the two studies, which gives good reproducibility and reliability to this study