Economic valuation of cultural heritage sites: A choice modeling approach

Despite growing attention by researchers and policy makers on the economic value of cultural heritage sites, debate surrounds the use of adequate methods. Although choice modeling techniques have been applied widely in the environmental economics field, their application in tourism and cultural economics has been much more limited. This paper contributes to the knowledge on the economic valuation of cultural heritage sites through a national choice modeling study of Old Parliament House, Australia. The study sought to value marginal changes in several attributes of this site and revealed that only some of them are valued positively: extending the period of temporary exhibitions, hosting various events, and having ‘shop and café’ and ‘fine dining’. Advantages of using a mixed logit model are provided and managerial and policy implications are discussed.