Potential of establishing a tourism entrance fee for the conservation management of St. Martin's Island, Bangladesh

Seema Rani ^{1, 2, 3}

Michael Bennett ⁴

Md Kawser Ahmed ^{3, 5}

Xiongzhi Xue ¹

Keliang Chen ²

Mohammad Shamsul Alam ⁶

Antaya March ⁴

Pierre Failler ^{4, 7}

Hide authors affiliations

Coastal and Ocean Management Institute (COMI), Xiamen University, Xiamen, China |

Third Institute of Oceanography (TIO), Ministry of Natural Resources, Xiamen University, Xiamen, China |

International Centre for Ocean Governance (ICOG), Faculty of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh |

⁴

Centre for Blue Governance, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth, P01 3DE, United Kingdom |

⁵

Department of Oceanography, Faculty of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh |

⁶

Institute of Statistical Research and Training (ISRT), University of Dhaka, Dhaka-1000, Bangladesh |

⁷

College of Management, Ocean University of China, Qingdao, China |

Publication type: Journal Article

Publication date: 2025-01-15

American Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)

Journal: Green Finance

SJR: —

CiteScore: 9.6

Impact factor: 5.5

ISSN: 26431092

DOI: 10.3934/gf.2025001

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Abstract

<p>St. Martin's Island was declared an ecologically critical area of Bangladesh in 1999, but this has had limited effect on the conservation of the island's natural coral resources, on which a thriving tourism industry and the local inhabitants depend. The introduction of a tourism entrance fee can benefit conservation management on the island, but research on the amount that tourists are willing to pay is absent. The objective of this paper is to determine an appropriate entrance fee amount tourists would be willing to pay (WTP) for visiting St. Martin's Island using contingent valuation method questionnaire surveys and interviews of tourists on the island (n = 327) and the factors that influence their decision. Significance testing and regression analysis were used to assess survey data. A large majority of respondents suggested that they would be willing to pay between 0.78 and 7.8 USD; however, 24.5% said that they would pay nothing and indicated that such reluctance to pay was based on a belief that the responsibility should not fall on themselves as individuals, rather than a lack of financial capacity. Evidence suggests that even greater tourism entrance fees would still be accepted and amenable to tourists. If a fee of 4.29 USD was introduced, between 350,000 and 3.51 million USD, or 1.93 million USD, could be generated annually. The level of education, income, and a general concern for the environment significantly influenced WTP amounts. This study is aimed at assisting policy decision-makers and conservation managers of St. Martin's Island; required policy actions are briefly discussed.</p>

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Publisher

American Institute of Mathematical Sciences (AIMS)

Journal

Green Finance

SJR

—

CiteScore

9.6

Impact factor

5.5

ISSN

26431092 (Print)