Travel-cost method for assessing the monetary value of recreational services in the Omerli Catchment

Abstract

Urban catchments in Istanbul, such as the Omerli Catchment, are expected to receive more visitors in the future due to an increase in population, long-term recreational habits, and an insufficient amount of urban green spaces in the metropolitan area. Therefore, estimating the recreation's monetary value is crucial for developing sustainable spatial strategies for urban catchments that take cultural services and provisionary services into account. Although the Omerli Catchment is a popular location for inhabitants' recreational demands, the previous studies primarily focused on provisioning and regulating services in the catchment. This study investigates the recreational potential and monetary value of this catchment using the random utility travel-cost method. We found that recreational visits depended on three significant factors: visitors' recreational habits, satisfaction and experience with nature, and urban environment. We also found that the consumer surplus is eight times greater than the average travel cost per person per year. This result shows visitors gain greater benefits from recreational visits than their cost to visit the catchment. We hope that decision-makers and practitioners will benefit from the results while developing spatial planning policies by considering urban catchments' recreational potentials.