The Economic Benefits to Visitors of an Interpretive Facility

Benefits derived from interpretive experiences have been notoriously difficult to quantify. This paper uses a cost-based technique (a travel cost method) to quantify the benefits received by visitors to Petawawa National Forestry Institute's (Ontario, Canada) public awareness facilities. An analysis of data from 697 visitors provided a basis for the calculation of benefits which are reported in monetary terms. Benefits were estimated to range in value from $2.89 to $6.64 (U.S.) per visit.