Determination of economic value of Göreme historical national park via contingent valuation method

Abstract

The Göreme National Historical Park with its natural and cultural values is one of the distinguished potential areas where recreation and tourism activities can be carried out. This study has been undertaken with the aims of determining the recreational and tourism use value of Göreme Historical National Park with the contingent valuation method, examining effective factors of users' willingness to pay. After completing preliminary works to achieve the objectives, a survey was conducted in the Göreme Historical National Park. Then, the data was entered into the computer using SPSS (Statistical Package for the Social Sciences) 15.0 statistical program to create a database for the statistical analysis. After that, the recreational and tourism use values (willingness to pay) for the National Park were calculated by doing necessary statistical analysis for Contingent Valuation Methods. As a result of the study, according to survey results which conducted in Göreme Historical National Park, annual willingness to pay value for current situation $ 8.672.788 and according to survey results which conducted out of Göreme Historical National Park, annual willingness to pay value for current situation $ 7.347.404 were calculated by using Contingent Valuation Method. © 2010 Academic Journals.