Factors Influencing Local Visitors' Willingness to Pay an Entrance Fee of the East Lake, Wuhan, China

The infrastructure of East Lake has undergone a gradual process of degeneration, necessitating the allocation of adequate financial resources to ensure the preservation and sustenance of its ecological environment. However, insufficient funds for conservation and management pose a problem for the management of Urban East Lake. Consequently, the research aimed to (1) identify the local visitor's satisfaction level with East Lake's facilities and environmental quality; (2) determine the visitors' perception of the conservation and management aspect of East Lake; (3) identify factors influencing local visitors' willingness to pay an entrance fee to East Lake, and (4) estimate an appropriate entrance fee for East Lake. Utilising the Contingent Valuation Method, visitors' willingness to pay was determined. The accumulation of 449 samples was based on convenience sampling. The results indicated that visitor satisfaction and attitude were both high. In addition, respondents had a good perception on East Lake. Age, income, and education level were factors that substantially affected visitors' willingness to pay; however, only the visitor variable had a positive coefficient. The estimated entrance fee was 2 USD per individual per visit. The research's findings provided significant policy and recommendations; they would serve as a baseline for the management to impose an entrance fee in East Lake.