The recreational value of Lake McKenzie, Fraser Island: An application of the travel cost method

Lake McKenzie is one of the most highly used and popular visitor destinations of all Fraser Island's natural sites, attracting 2000 visitors a day in peak periods. Many consider this level of visitation to be unsustainable and the management authority is currently considering a range of management options to address this issue. In assessing the alternatives, it is useful to have some idea of the recreational use value of the Lake under the current regime, as it is this value that is at risk if visitor numbers are to be reduced. This paper, using the zonal travel cost method, estimates the recreational use value of Fraser Island and Lake McKenzie for Australian-resident, independent visitors.