Evaluation of the Effects of Farm Road Improvement Projects on Promotion of Recreation

An Example of Ibaraki Prefecture Flower Park and Fruits Line

Abstract

Farm road improvement projects promote recreation in rural areas by providing easier access from the urban area to the rural area. This paper evaluates the effects of Farm road improvement projects by Travel costs method, with a case study of Ibaraki prefecture flower park and Fruits line. The equation, that relates the travel costs to the number of visitors per thousand residents, is estimated by the analysis of the information collected at Ibaraki prefecture flower park. The effects of Fruits line, which is estimated as the difference of consumer's surplus under the with-project conditions and the without-project conditions, is calculated to 9.7 % of the actual consumer's surplus of the visitors to Ibaraki Prefecture Flower Park. These results indicate that not only the improvement of the recreational environment in the rural area but also easier access by Farm road improvement project is an effective measure to promote recreation in rural areas.