Estimating Economic Value for Potential Ecotourism Resources in Puncak Lawang Park, Agam District, West Sumatera, Indonesia

AbstractThe purpose of this study was to estimate visitors’ Willingness to Pay (WTP) for ecotourism in Puncak Lawang Park (PLP), Agam District of West-Sumatera Indonesia. The study applied Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) on 300 sample visitors comprising both local and international. The results show that majority of the visitors were willing to pay for ecotourism at PLP. The logit regression outcome indicated that bid, income, and males were the most significant factors that influenced visitors WTP. The mean WTP for entrance fee to PLP was Rp9411.35 (RM2.64) per entrance. This mean WTP is higher than current entrance fee (Rp5000 / RM1.40). This result gives an insight for probable increase in the entrance fee to enhance conservation in PLP