การศึกษาความเต็มใจจ่ายของนักท่องเที่ยวเพื่อการอนุรักษ์อุทยานแห่งชาติดอยภูคา จังหวัดน่าน

Abstract

This research aims to study the economic and social characteristics of tourists and evaluate the willingness to pay for conserving Doi Phu-Kha National Park, Nan Province, and the analysis on the factors determining the willingness to pay for two hypothetical public actions, Conservation and Development. Conservation is presumably: 1) The establishment of nursery plants, 2) The enhancement of conservation. Development is presumably: 1) The tourism information service, 2) To improve the facilities. The information was collected from 400 sample Thai visitors who visited the National Park, and the data was analyzed with Tobit model application using Maximum Likelihood Estimation (MLE) technique. The study found that the majority of respondents are female, 207 samples (51.75%). The respondents’ ages are between 20-29 years old, 169 samples (42.25 %), and most are single, 277 samples (69.25%). The number of family members are 4-6 people, 264 samples (66 %). The level of education for the most respondents is bachelor’s degree, 205 samples (51.25 %), and most are students, 126 samples (31.50 %). Most respondents receive a monthly income between 10,001-20,000 baht, 128 samples (32 %). The value of the willingness to pay of tourists shows the amount tourists are willing to pay for conserving Doi Phu-Kha National Park : the first conservation method is 53.40 baht per person, representing a total economic value of 1,592,655 baht with factors affecting this motivation including status, family, education, and income. The willingness to pay for the second conversation method is 84.57 baht per person, representing a total economic value of 2,522,300.25 baht with factors affecting this motivation including status, education, occupation, and income. The first development method is 97.59 baht per person, representing a total economic value of 2,910,621.75 baht with factors affecting this motivation including status, education, occupation, and income. The willingness to pay for the second development method is 91.83 baht per person representing a total economic value of 2,738,829.75 baht with factors affecting this motivation including status, education, and occupation. So the environmental valuation of Doi Phu-Kha National Park can be to assign a policy, conservation projects, or impose a fee to visit the park to promote ecotourism. And to support the project, it should not specify a fee exceeding the average willingness to pay.