Zimo Huang, Shida Irwana Omar, Syamsul Bachri
Clungup Mangrove Conservation (CMC) Tiga Warna is a community-managed site that currently relies on a flat conservation fee. The present revenue sustains day-to-day operations but is insufficient for long-term mangrove and coral recovery and infrastructure upgrades. To ensure ecotourism sustainability, an increase in the existing fee is being considered. To address this issue, this study assesses tourists’ willingness to pay (WTP) additional fees and identifies the key determinants influencing both WTP decisions and payment amounts. A structured questionnaire survey was conducted among 310 visitors in May 2023. Using logistic regression and multiple linear regression, the study finds that perceived value (PV), institutional trust (IT), age, marital status, education, and occupation significantly affect tourists’ willingness to pay. In contrast, the WTP amount is influenced by ecological cognition (EC), PV, gender, monthly income, and place of residence. On average, visitors are willing to pay IDR 19,353.20, which is higher than the current IDR 10,000 fee. Based on annual visitor numbers in 2022, the estimated economic value of CMC Tiga Warna amounts to IDR 925,859,441.75. In addition, a sensitivity analysis shows that WTP levels vary under different socioeconomic and psychological scenarios, suggesting that fee adjustments should be accompanied by measures that strengthen environmental awareness and ecological cognition. These findings not only provide practical guidance for adjusting the conservation fee at CMC Tiga Warna, but also highlight the value of integrating psychological and socioeconomic determinants in future WTP research on mangrove conservation. © 2025 by author(s).
School of Housing, Building, and Planning, Universiti Sains Malaysia, Penang, Malaysia; Faculty of Social Science, Universitas Negeri Malang, Malang, Indonesia
