Sustainability, Vol. 11, Pages 1100: Estimating the Preservation Value of World Heritage Site Using Contingent Valuation Method: The Case of the Li River, China (Sustainability)

World Heritage Sites (WHSs) play an important role in sustaining community identity and enhancing local economic development through tourism. Although the Li River was designated as a WHS in 2014, severe damage to its ecosystem and environmental problems have been reported in recent years. Thus, the purpose of this study is to estimate residents’ willingness to pay (WTP) for the preservation of the Li River using a contingent valuation method. Moreover, a two-stage approach using hypothetical and real setting scenarios was utilized to reduce a hypothetical bias and overvaluation. Logit models were used to estimate the preservation value and compare factors influencing WTP between the hypothetical and real scenarios. The results of this study support the usefulness of a two-stage approach to avoid hypothetical bias and estimate a realistic preservation value. In the real setting scenario, WTP was 144.66–163.90 Yuan (USD 20.83–23.60) per capita per year, and the aggregate value was 721–818 million Yuan (USD 104–118 million) depending on mean WTP and truncated WTP. The study findings provide useful implication to support government’s fund and sustainable efforts to preserve the Li River.