Tourists' willingness to pay for biodiversity conservation and environment protection, Dalai Lake protected area: Implications for entrance fee and sustainable management

► Three logit and probit models for evaluating the probability of a positive WTP are constructed. ► Income and the awareness of being in a protected area are the most significant predictors of tourists' WTP (p < 0.01). ► Education level and institutional trust are significant predictors of tourists' WTP (p < 0.05). ► Median WTP is 71.08 RMB ($ 10.72) and the current entrance fee is just 28.14% of the WTP. ► We recommend the entrance fee increases to 50 RMB ($ 7.54).