Estimating the economic value of ice climbing in Hyalite Canyon: An application of travel cost count data models that account for excess zeros

By CostBenefit on Feb 8, 2010 | In Land, Academic Study/Journal Article, Preservation & Open Space, Travel Cost Method, Environmental Economics / Ecological Economics, Costs and Benefits, Recreation

Link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jenvman.2009.12.010

Abstract: Recently, the sport of ice climbing has seen a dramatic increase in popularity. This paper uses the travel cost method to estimate the demand for ice climbing in Hyalite Canyon, Montana, one of the premier ice climbing venues in North America. Access to Hyalite and other ice climbing destinations have been put at risk due to liability issues, public land management agendas, and winter road conditions. To this point, there has been no analysis on the economic benefits of ice climbing. In addition to the novel outdoor recreation application, this study applies econometric methods designed to deal with “excess zeros” in the data. Depending upon model specification, per person per trip values are estimated to be in the range of $76 to $135.

by D. Mark Anderson; Department of Economics, University of Washington, Box 353330, Savery 305, Seattle, WA 98195-3330, USA; Tel.: +1 406 366 0921.
Journal of Environmental Management via Elsevier Science Direct www.ScienceDirect.com
Volume 91, Issue 4; March-April, 2010; Pages 1012-1020

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