Estimation of Recreation Value and Determining the Factors Effective in Visitors' WTP for Saint Stepanus Church Using the Heckman Two -stage and CV Methods

TLDR: In this paper, the authors study the recreation value of the Saint Stepanus Church, one of the famous churches on the north-west of Iran, located on the edge of Aras River and find that 68% of the visitors were willing to pay money for visiting the church.

Abstract: Tourism with its special characteristics is considered as a dynamic industry with a shining future. Investment is continuously increasing in this industry in touristic countries. Tourism potentially income creating tool for historical countries such as Iran providing that there is a comprehensive and foresighted regulation and planning for such attractions. Aiming at helping the proper planning in this field, the current research studies recreation value of Saint Stepanus Church, one of the famous churches on the north-west of Iran, located on the edge of Aras River. Estimating the recreation value of this church can be effective in foreseeing the needs, eliminating the shortages and developing the tourism in the region. The main aims of this article are separation of influential factors on visitors' willingness to pay (WTP) for Saint Stepanus Church visiting costs using Heckman two-stage Method and Contingent Valuation Method (CVM). Required data was gathered through questionnaires and face-to-face interviews with 317 visitors of the church. Results showed that 68% of the visitors were willing to pay money for visiting the church. Variables of income, education levels, family size and the dummy variable of sexuality were effective in visitors' WTP for visiting and variables of income, family size, education level, age and the service satisfaction rate of visitors were effective in the rates of WTP. The average of WTP, using the CVM and Heckman method were estimated at 4034 and 4800 rials and the annual recreation value was estimated at about 322 and 384 million rials, respectively.