Estimating outdoor recreation demand with aggregate data: A revealed preference approach

An aggregate travel cost model is employed to estimate the parameters of a single site recreation demand model for visiting a beach. Applying zonal data, the impacts of several variables which are likely to influence an individual's decision to take a trip to the beach are examined. The count nature of the dependent variable, distributional information (overdispersion), and heterogeneity of visitors' decisions are considered in employing three approaches for estimating the parameters of the demand function. The results suggest that the events, weather condition, season and weekend effect are among the most significant factors affecting the demand for the beach.

► Rainy weather reduces the number of people going to the beach 76–81%.
► Cloudy weather does not seem to affect people's decision to go to the park.
► Events are effective in drawing large crowds to the beach.
► The weekend effect is positive and strong, especially for the sunday variable.
►  Geographic location and seasons are important in the demand for beach resorts.