Estimating willingness to pay for a cycling event using a willingness to travel approach

This study examines the monetary value of nonmarket benefits to participants of an active sport tourism event, such as happiness and pride from participating in an event. Willingness to travel (WTT) greater distances for future events is assessed and converted into willingness to pay (WTP) estimates using travel costs. Using survey data from the 2014 and 2015 Blood Sweat Gears bike ride, the intended visitation models show that changes in travel cost have a significant negative effect. WTP to revisit the event was between $41 and $57. The likelihood of return visit decreases as travel costs increase, indicating that WTP estimates are internally valid. WTP estimates stemming from two years of data collection are stable, suggesting that they are also temporally reliable. This study demonstrated the feasibility of using stated preference WTT questions to assign a monetary value to nonmarket benefits of active sport tourists.