Recreation evaluation using a characteristics theory of consumer behavior

Extract: An operational model is presented which can estimate ex ante the demand curve for a new recreation site or a site whose characteristics have been altered. The computer-based model is developed from Lancaster's theoryof consumer behavior and is applied to data from a group of Australian ski areas to illustrate the procedural practicalities. The estimated shifts in the demand curve for one ski area following specified but hypothetical changes in its characteristics are used to estimate changes in the site's consumers' surplus as a basis for cost-benefit analysis of these changes in characteristics.