Dartmoor National Park Visitors Survey, 1996

The aim of the research was to test and perfect methodologies currently used by environmental economists and policy makers around the world to measure the recreational use value of outdoor areas. The general conclusion drawn from this study is to be scrutinized by experts and used to help determine whether such procedures are reliable and applicable to other such outdoor areas.<br> The research uses three different valuation methods - the contingent valuation method (CVM), the travel cost method (TCM) and a travel-based application of the contingent activity method (CAM) - to estimate the flow of user benefits from the Dartmoor National Park. The travel-based CAM is 'novel' and its performance is assessed in comparison with the more conventional CVM and TCM.