Economic valuation of forest recreation: The case of the University forest of Pertouli in Greece

Recreation benefits constitute a substantial part of the total economic value of forests and are important for local and national economy. An extensive literature on environmental economy has grown in our days describing a variety of methods that have been developed for valuing the total economic value of forest resources. Some of these methods are based on individual preferences for either the conservation or the utilisation of environmental commodities. This paper reports the findings of a CVM study, in Greece, for estimating annual and per trip forest recreation values of Pertouli University Forest. For this reason an in-person interview surveys of forest recreation behavior were carried out in a sample of 591 recreational users of Pertouli forest. The recreational value of the Pertouli University Forest totals about 565,197,652 € per annum according to the maximum amount its visitors are willing to pay to spent one more day in the area. Results show that forest recreation is highly valued much greater than timber production income. The results would help the choice of management strategies for a more economically efficient allocation of forest resources to different uses.