Demand for Ecotourism: An Assessment of Recreation Value of Negombo Lagoon in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Recreation and tourism represent a major opportunity and nexus for managing the interaction between ecosystems and people, including particularly to urban ecosystems, where people living in an environment, that its’ contact with natural or semi natural ecosystems is often limited. The Negombo lagoon has proven to be an important recreational site in a greater urban area in the face of the growing demand for urban recreational amenities. This study evaluates the recreation demand for Negombo lagoon while Specifically, identifies the current status of recreational activities in Negombo lagoon to motivate and sustain public support for lagoon protection and conservation through monetary signals. The study employs both Individual Travel Cost Method and Zonal Travel Cost Method in order to estimate the welfare gains from recreation. The social welfare derived for both local (USD 4.7 Million) and foreign visitors (USD 911 Million) demonstrates the trade-off and synergies of sharing lagoon for recreational activities.