An investigation of perceptions of social equity and price acceptability judgments for campers in the U.S. national forest

Joungkoo Park, Gary D. Ellis, Seong Seop Kim, Bruce Prideaux

Research output: Journal article publicationJournal articleAcademic researchpeer-review

40 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

In spite of the significance of social equity in determining appropriate fee levels for activities such as camping in public nature-tourism resources, there has been little understanding of the mechanisms that (a) influence the debate over scale and (b) the conditions that are used in fee determination. The main objective of this study is to investigate the decision making process that predicts social equity judgments and price acceptability of user fees for activities such as camping in protected areas (including parks) and outcome the variables. In this study of Wasatch-Cache National Forest in northeastern Utah using conjoint analysis the results indicated that the extent of public input was the most prominent predictor of social equity judgment at p < 0.01. The second highest part-worth coefficient was obtained in support of low user fees (a hypothetical scale of $3.00 vs. $8.00). The magnitude of the part-worth coefficients for price acceptability showed that the highest part-worth coefficient was a fee level of $3.00. The next highest part-worth coefficient was in support of revenue being used to maintain the quality of the site. It was also found that that "extensive public input" was an important predictor of social equity.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)202-212
Number of pages11
JournalTourism Management
Volume31
Issue number2
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 1 Apr 2010
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Camping
  • Conjoint analysis
  • Nature-based tourism
  • Price acceptability judgment
  • Pricing
  • Social equity

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Development
  • Transportation
  • Tourism, Leisure and Hospitality Management
  • Strategy and Management

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'An investigation of perceptions of social equity and price acceptability judgments for campers in the U.S. national forest'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this