Determining Optimal Method in Estimation of Economic Value of Environmental Satisfaction in the Recreational District "Taleghan Dam"

Because of the increasing need to recreational centers in our country, study of ecotourism is a necessity. Several methods of evaluating the environmental satisfaction have been introduced. But the efficiency of each method has not been much discussed in case-studies. In this research, the recreational value of the district was determined in order to study the satisfaction value of the recreational district "Taleghan dam". So, in the present study, the effective elements of willing to pay in Taleghan dam 's visitors and also the average estimation of their willing to pay were determined by contingency valuation method and two-stage Heckman model. The necessary data were gathered through filling the questionnaire and verbal interview of 314 visitor in spring and summer 2011. The results show that 86 % of under-studt visitors had the willing to pay for recreation. Using the contingency valuation method, the willingness to pay per person per visit was estimated $1. The variables of the recommended cost, monthly revenue of family members, educational level, satisfaction rate, nativeness, the willingness to revisit, the seasons of spring and summer, satisfaction level are effective elements of the willingness to pay in this method. Also, by means of two-stage Heckman method, the average rate of the willingness to pay was 1 cent. Monthly revenue, educational level, satisfaction rate, occasions of visiting the competitor places of Taleghan dam and satisfaction rate are the effective elements of people 's willingness to pay in this method. The results show optimized method for determining the recreational value of Taleghan dam was two-stage Heckman method.