Economic Evaluation of Recreational Operation of Ahwaz Beach Park Using Individual Travel Cost Method

According to the increasing demand for recreational and entertainment centers, economic and social analysis and investigating human needs providing possibilities and facilities is neccesary. The main objective of this study is to estimate the recreational value of Ahwaz Beach Park as an important entertainment center of Khuzestan people especially Ahwaz city. Individual Travel Cost Method as an effective method in planning and managing development projects was used in this study. Individual visits are as dependent and individual travel cost and socio-economic variables are independent variables. Needed data were collected in 1391 by completing 234 questionnaires from visitors of the site.
Findings: The results indicated that the age of visitors has an acceptable but insignificant effect on numbers of visits. On the other hand, the variables of education and income have a positive effect and travel cost has a negative effect on visits. Recreational value of Beach Park was estimated about 157885 Rials per person and 1342022500 Rials for a year in total.
Discussion and Since the results indicate the significant economic value of Beach Park, it is necessary to codify its tourism development plan. ‍‍‍‍Policies should be based on development of recreations and urban Parks with maintaining high environmental standards and creating mechanisms for capital return