Author(s):Javed Iqbal, Younas Khan, Zahoorul Haq, Hayley Hesseln and Ziaullah
Abstract :
Non-market valuations have taken a central role in valuing sites for which markets generally do
not exist. It is important to place a value on a site – recreational or archaeological – for making policies
regarding preservation and others relating to it. This study uses a travel cost method to value the Takht-i
Bahi archaeological site, located in the province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Primary data were
collected from the visitors through a well-structured questionnaire. Various econometric specifications were
estimated such as Ordinary Least Square (OLS), poisson and negative bionomial to estimate the impact of
various factors on the visitation rate. The consumer surplus per person per visit was calculated to be Rs.
2132 approximately equal to 20 US dollars and the total value of the site was found to be Rs. 7,808,102
approximately equal to 74,719 US dollars. The study provides both theoretical and an empirical methods to
place a value on a public site, which would help evaluate. Placing a value on a site of public interest helps to
evaluate the expected revenue generated from them and provide guidance about spending on improvements
and maintenance of the site. This type of study can be replicated in other areas of cultural and educational
importance as policies relating to such sites increasingly depend on their accurate valuations.