2019 Volume 82 Issue 5 Pages 579-582
Various natural areas are planning to institute or have already instituted a range of entry fees to enhance the experience of visitors. However, these areas still constitute a minority. Therefore, we conducted a questionnaire survey to analyze visitors’resistance to pay entry fees depending upon the resource type and difference in the fee collection method used. Regarding the type of resource, we found that resistance to pay an entry fee for a natural area was higher on average than an admission charge to access a public exhibition facility or cultural heritage. Desirable fee collection methods varied according to the resource type and aversion to paying fees for using facilities in natural areas and entering mountain areas was relatively high. In natural areas and mountain areas, attitudes toward payment were influenced by how frequently respondents to such areas visited natural areas as well as their intent to visit in the future. Those who visited natural areas frequently and intended to visit again were least resistant to paying fees. Based on the above, we conclude that if users are to be made to bear costs, charging them according to the type of resource would provoke the lowest possible resistance.
