Comparative Study on Robust Methodological Choice for Economic Valuation of Religious and Heritage Sites: A Systematic Review

Abstract Sacred sites, including temples, shrines, monasteries, churches, cathedrals, sacred mountains, and pilgrimage landscapes, generate substantial spiritual, cultural, recreational, and heritage benefits that are rarely reflected in admission charges or conventional market accounts. Non-market valuation (NMV) methods are therefore increasingly relevant for estimating the welfare that pilgrims and other visitors derive from access to these sites. The objectives of the review are to identify applications of NMV methods to sacred, religious, spiritual, and closely related heritage sites; to compare methodological choices and major value estimates; and to identify methodological and geographical gaps that should inform future research on the economic valuation of pilgrimage. This systematic review examines the application of revealed-preference and stated-preference methods to religious and sacred-site visitation, with particular attention to the Travel Cost Method (TCM), Individual Travel Cost Method (ITCM), Zonal Travel Cost Method (ZTCM), Contingent Valuation Method (CVM), and choice experiments. In this context, a total of 62 records were identified through databases, and 21 studies ultimately met all inclusion criteria and were retained for the qualitative and methodological synthesis. The evidence indicates a gradual movement from aggregate zonal applications toward individual-level travel-cost models, largely because pilgrimage populations are heterogeneous in income, distance travelled, frequency of visits, religious motivation, and opportunity cost of time. The review also finds that CVM is valuable where preservation, existence, bequest, and other non-use values matter. However, methodological problems remain, particularly multipurpose trips, travel-time valuation, substitute sites, on-site sampling, zero-truncation, and the distinction between religious utility and ordinary recreational utility. The review concludes that hybrid Revealed Preference Method (RPM) and Stated Preference Method (SPM) designs, transparent benefit-transfer procedures, and pilgrimage-specific demand models offer the most promising direction for future economic valuation of sacred sites. JEL Classification: Q51, Z12, Z31, R13