Tourist levies and willingness to pay for a whale shark experience

Swimming with whale sharks has become popular in the waters of Ningaloo Marine Park, Western Australia, since 1993. The Park is one of very few known and accessible places in the world where whale sharks congregate on a regular and predictable basis. Consumers' willingness to pay (WTP) to participate in the whale shark experience, and their willingness to contribute financially to the management of the resource might be important to the long-term sustainability of the industry. The Western Australian Department of Conservation and Land Management levies tourist operators A$15 per passenger per day, and uses the funds collected for research, management and education about whale sharks. Surveys were undertaken to determine the willingness of participants to pay for their whale shark experience and to pay the levy. WTP for the experience was slightly below the amounts actually paid, while Japanese tourists indicated a lower WTP than did other tourists. Respondents indicated WTP a significantly higher levy than is presently charged (t = -10.99, p < 0.05). In a loglinear analysis the only significant effect on WTP the levy was ethnicity (Pearson chi-square = 16.2473, p < 0.05), with Japanese tourists again signalling a lower WTP than other groups. It is concluded that tourists are willing, via the payment of a transparent 'access fee', to contribute to the costs of sustainable management of the whale shark experience