Alternative
approaches:
1) simple
zonal travel cost approach, using
mostly secondary data, with some
simple data collected from visitors.
2) individual
travel cost approach, using a
more detailed survey of visitors.
3) random utility approach using survey and other data, and
more
complicated statistical techniques.
Data
needs:
¥number of
visits from each origin zone (usually defined by zip code)
¥demographic
information about people from each zone
¥round-trip
mileage from each zone
¥travel costs
per mile
More
complicated, and thorough, applications may also collect information
about:
¥exact
distance that each individual traveled to the site
¥exact travel
expenses
¥the length of
the trip
¥the amount of
time spent at the site
¥other
locations visited during the same trip, and amount of time spent at each
¥substitute
sites that the person might visit instead of this site, and the travel distance
to each
¥other reasons
for the trip (is the trip only to visit the site, or for several purposes)
¥quality of
the recreational experience at the site, and at other similar sites (e.g.,
fishing success)
¥perceptions
of environmental quality at the site
¥characteristics
of the site and other, substitute, sites