Estimating the value of beach recreation in Benin

Abstract

The economic valuation of recreation services provided by ecosystems is attracting increased research attention. This is also the case in developing countries and in Benin in particular. This study focuses on beach recreation and intends to inform public policies regarding the government’s seaside tourism development strategy and coastal regeneration programme. Based on a sample of 213 local, national and international visitors of Fidjrossè beach, the study provides the first estimation of consumer surplus for beach recreation services. It applies the Individual Travel Cost Method (ITCM), tests several count models, and adopts a negative binomial regression which best fits the data. The results highlight that beach recreation is preferred over other leisure activities by a majority of respondents, reflecting its worth as a recreational setting. The number of visits to the beach per year is determined by a variety of variables, including travel costs, visitors’ education level and sex. The estimated visitor surplus (XOF 512.69; USD 0.87 USD for the total expenses per visitor per visit) is fairly low and is discussed with regard to the methodological limitations of the study, methodological issues that still need further investigation and the structural specificities of tourism in Benin.