Economic Values of Bird Watching at Point Pelee National Park, CanadaAuthor(s): Glen T. Hvenegaard, James R. Butler, Doug K. KrystofiakSource: Wildlife Society Bulletin, Vol. 17, No. 4 (Winter, 1989), pp. 526-531Published by: Allen PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3782724Accessed: 02/06/2009 13:08

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Wildl. Soc. Bull. 17:526-531, 1989

ECONOMIC VALUES OF BIRD WATCHING AT POINT PELEE NATIONAL PARK, CANADA

GLEN T. HVENEGAARD, Department of Forest Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada

JAMES R. BUTLER, Department of Forest Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2H1, Canada

DOUG K. KRYSTOFIAK, Department of Forest Science, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB T6G 2HI, Canada

Bird watching, or birding, is one of the fast- est growing wildlife recreational activities in North America (Harrison 1979, Butler 1984) and involves 20-30 million people annually (More 1979, Lyons 1982, Shaw and Mangun 1984, Kellert 1985, Jacquemot and Filion 1987). In Canada, at least 13.1% of the population undertook special trips to observe, photograph, or study birds (Jacquemot and Filion 1987).

Bird watching results in substantial econom- ic expenditures, conservatively estimated to be > $20 billion each year in North America (U.S. Fish and Wildl. Serv. 1982, Filion et al. 1983). Although some researchers have examined the economic expenditures of nonconsumptive wildlife activities (Myres 1968, DeGraaf and Payne 1975), relatively few have focused on the economic contribution associated with bird watching itself (Horvath 1974, Stoll and John- son 1984).

The purpose of our study was to determine the net economic value of bird watching at Point Pelee National Park, Canada, and to as- sess the local economic impact of birders on the Point Pelee-Leamington district of Ontar- io. Preliminary assessments have revealed that the community of Leamington has made suc- cessful efforts to accommodate bird watchers during the spring season (Butler 1984, Butler and Fenton 1987).

STUDY AREA AND METHODS

Point Pelee, one of Canada's smallest national parks, is located in the southwest corner of Ontario, 80 km from Windsor. Internationally renowned for its bird watching potential in May, the park is rated as one of

the premier birding locations in North America (Har- rison 1976, Hince 1986, Greij 1987). Each spring, cor- responding with the northward migration of birds, nearly 57,000 gate visits by birders (involving nearly 20,000 individual bird watchers) are recorded at Point Pelee. The town of Leamington, located 9 km north of the park, receives most of the tourism benefits as- sociated with this activity.

During the peak spring birding season (1-24 May 1987) at Point Pelee National Park, we conducted ran- dom personal interviews with 603 bird watchers (96% response rate). Information on expenditures for travel and equipment, use value, and socio-demographics was collected as well as data on potential purchases by birders, their attitudes toward park and local facilities and services, and their ideas on how birding experi- ences could be improved. Only bird watchers 16 years old were interviewed. We used the Contingent Valuation method (Dwyer et al. 1977, Cummings et al. 1986) to obtain use value estimates.

Data were summarized and analyzed for relation- ships using the Statistical Package for the Social Sci- ences (SPSS Inc. 1983). Expenditure data were weight- ed according to weekday/weekend park visitation records and summarized for the month of May and the entire year (reported in 1987 Canadian dollars).

In addition, we conducted interviews with 183 busi- ness establishments throughout the Leamington dis- trict. This systematic sample essentially included all facilities and services that bird watchers frequented during their stay.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Demographic Characteristics

Fifty-nine percent of respondents were male; 41% were female. Average age was 49.3 years, compared to the 1986 Canadian average of 42 (for those >16 yrs old) (Stat. Can. 1987). Bir- ders at Point Pelee were highly educated, with 62.4% possessing a bachelor's degree or great- er, compared to only 10.0% of the Canadian population (Stat. Can. 1988a). The average for-

ECONOMICS OF BIRD WATCHING * Hvenegaard et al.

mal education was 15.8 years, almost the equivalent of a bachelor's degree. Ten percent possessed a doctorate degree.

Bird watchers reported an average 1986 gross household income of $57,175, considerably more than the Canadian average of $37,827 (Stat. Can. 1988b). In fact, >68% of respon- dents had household incomes greater than the Canadian average. This is reflected, in part, by the large proportion of bird watchers (57.9%) employed in professional occupations.

Most respondents were international visitors (48.4% from the United States and 2.8% from Europe-primarily Great Britain). Of North American birders, the average 1 way travel distance was 513 km (based on most efficient road route). A majority of the Pelee bird watchers originated from nearby provinces and states, mainly from Ontario (43.0%) and Mich- igan (23.9%), with smaller percentages from New York, Ohio, Illinois, and Quebec. The most common metropolitan centers of origin were Toronto (10.4%), London (5.5%), Ottawa (2.3%), Montreal (2.5%), and Detroit (7.1%). Eighty-two percent of respondents came from urban residential settings.

Recreational Characteristics

Point Pelee birders reported an average of 15.2 years of active bird-watching experience. They participate, on average, 35.6 days/year in their sport. Twenty percent were first-time visitors to Point Pelee. Over 42% had visited the park at least 5 times, and 5% of respondents had visited the park >100 times. The average number of previous visits was 28.6. However, only 38.3% of respondents visit Point Pelee more than once per year. Ninety-six percent of the birders interviewed stated that visiting the park was the primary intent of their trip.

Photography is an important aspect of the bird-watching experience at Point Pelee (40.8% were photographers). Based on the type of equipment used, 12.2% of our sample were classified as snapshot photographers, 17.8%

F60O

FILIMI, NfAY PPNP TRIPS TOTFL-$3.8 MILLION

SOUVENIRSf 0 LOCAL SPENDING

'~T9S^a. TOTRL-$2.l MILLION OTHER r

0 1o00 2 3o 00 0 00 0 700 O 00o 1000 I

EXPENSES ($ x 1000)

Fig. 1. Trip expenditures by bird watchers visiting Point Pelee National Park (PPNP), Ontario, May 1987.

general photographers, and 10.8% advanced photographers.

Visitors spent an average of 3.4 days birding in the Pelee area; the length of the visit ranged from 1 to 31 days in May. Point Pelee attracts bird watchers throughout the year, but the month of highest visitation is May, which ac- counted for 64.9% of the total birding gate visitation and 43.5% of bird watchers in 1987. Most birders stayed in the Leamington district a short time (26.9% for 1 day and 39.7% for 2-3 days), but 33.4% stayed for -4 days. The overall trip length averaged 5.4 days, of which 63% was spent in the Point Pelee area.

Trip Expenditures

Bird-watching trips to Point Pelee in May resulted in total expenditures of > $3.8 million, $2.1 million of which were spent locally in the Leamington district, as reported by birders sampled. Using summary statistics for gate vis- itation (compiled by Can. Parks Serv.), we es- timated by extrapolation that expenditures as- sociated with bird watching at Point Pelee for 1987 were $5.4 million. Of this, $3.2 million (57%) were spent in the local Leamington area. Major expenditures included travel (27.2% of total), food (26.3%), and accommodations (22.5%) (Fig. 1).

Based on percentage of use for birding and days of bird watching throughout the year, an

527

528 Wildl. Soc. Bull. 17(4) 1989

SCOPES B /?///f

CLOTHINms / A

FOOTVEfR

RECIORDINS 0P NRAY PPNP TRIPS TRPE RECORDERS TOTRL- 0.000

P=fUS/pis B0 LOCRL SPENDING

TOTRL-S134.000 OTHER 23

0 25 50 7 i 1X 125 ro

EXPENDITURE (S x 1000)

Fig. 2. Equipment expenditures by bird watchers vis- iting Point Pelee National Park (PPNP), Ontario, May 1987.

additional $506,000 (13.4%) of annual expen- ditures for birding equipment can be attrib- uted to May birding trips at Point Pelee (Fig. 2). The average bird watcher spent $224/trip, with an average of $66/day for his or her trip to Point Pelee. Birding trip expenses differed for various lengths of stay. Birders staying for only 1 day incurred average expenses of ap- proximately $54/day, $75/day for a 2-3 day stay, and $74/day for stays -4 days. This dif- ference is mostly attributed to costs of accom- modations and food.

In the local area, expenditures were mainly on food (36.7%) and accommodations (38.4%), with additional amounts on souvenirs (6.5%) and equipment (6.3%) (Fig. 1). Twenty-four percent of Point Pelee birders purchased bin- oculars within the past year; however, only 5 respondents (0.8%) purchased these in the local area. Many other equipment items represented major annual expenditures ($3.6 million col- lectively) for these birders (Fig. 2), but only a small proportion (4%) was spent in the local area. Forty-one percent of Pelee birders re- ported buying souvenirs in the local area. The average bird watcher spent $126 locally on a May birding trip and $37/day of birding.

Ninety-three percent of respondents used personal vehicles to travel to Point Pelee. Oth- ers traveled by airplane (7.5%), rental vehicles

(7.0%), or other forms of transportation (4.3%), such as guided bus tours. Some travelers used a combination of these transportation modes.

Costs were incurred for food at restaurants by 76% of our respondents and at grocery stores by 74% of Pelee birders during their May bird- ing trips. More than $654,000 were spent in local restaurants by Pelee birders in May, whereas only $125,000 were spent in local gro- cery stores.

Fifty percent of bird watchers interviewed incurred expenses on hotels or motels, and only 24% reported expenditures on camping. More than $711,000 were spent locally in May for accommodations in hotels and motels, and $89,000 were spent locally for camping.

With the primary birding attraction being Point Pelee National Park, Leamington is the major beneficiary in providing facilities and services to this user group (Figs. 1 and 2). It is often a birder's desire to be as close to the park as possible, because the birding day is long (9.8 hr/day [Butler and Fenton 1987]). However, with the limited supply of suitable accom- modations during peak visitation periods, vis- itors commonly commute from as far away as Windsor (80 km). Many Leamington hotels are pre-booked a year in advance.

Net Economic Value

The net worth of bird watching at Point Pelee includes more than just dollars spent. Value is more appropriately measured by es- timating willingness to pay, based on satisfac- tion gained and other value derived from the sport (Randall 1987).

After being asked the question, "What is the most your costs on this trip could have risen before deciding not to come birding at Point Pelee?," most respondents (75%) stated that their costs could have doubled. Respondents answered in 1 of 2 ways, in terms of actual dollars or as a percentage of their actual trip expenditures, whichever they preferred. This hypothetical question was used to determine

ECONOMICS OF BIRD WATCHING * Hvenegaard et al. 529

the net economic value of a birding experi- ence; it is not to be used as a justification for increased prices or gate fees. The average re- sponse to the above question was $256/trip, or $76/day, and totaled $4.1 million for May birding trips to Point Pelee or $6.3 million for 1987.

Economic Impact on Local Businesses

Seven percent of businesses (solely in the hotel/motel and restaurant sectors) reported hiring additional staff or increasing regular staff hours to assist during peak birder visitation. This amounted to >3,000 extra person-hours and approximately $16,000 in additional wage earnings in Leamington.

In order to assess potential sales opportu- nities, an open-ended question, "What items might you have purchased in the Point Pelee- Leamington district, had they been avail- able?," was posed to individual birders. Re- spondents indicated that literature, apparel, and souvenirs provided the greatest potential sales opportunities (Fig. 3). When asked how much additional money would have been spent on these items, a total of $1.3 million was reported (average of $78/person).

Business owners interviewed estimated their gross spring sales to birders to be <25% of the $2.1 million in local expenditures reported by birders. This would appear to suggest that many local businesses are presently underestimating the economic contribution birders make to the community. At present, only 8% of businesses are making efforts to advertise and attract bir- ders.

CONCLUSIONS

Already well-known in recreational terms, values of bird watching at Point Pelee National Park are further illustrated by economic data. The community of Leamington is the primary beneficiary of this international asset despite a relatively small investment in advertising and virtually none in marketing the attraction. Point

AFPPAREL ~RPP^R~ EL, U IPHENT

2Z.3Z E;^v OTHER

LITERATURE

OOUVENIRS

FOOD/BEVERAGES

Fig. 3. Potential sales opportunities to bird watchers in the Point Pelee-Leamington district of Ontario.

Pelee's bird-watching reputation has generally been spread by word of mouth and by external references in books and articles. The com- munity of Leamington welcomes birders each May with a highly visible banner and has re- cently devoted some resources to develop a much-needed brochure designed for bird watchers, describing available attractions, fa- cilities, and services.

Even though the local area benefits directly and indirectly from bird watchers, we estimate the current local economic impact has the po- tential to triple, based on expanded local spending on desired goods and services and increased birder visitation during other months. Fall migrations are equally impressive with concentrations of birds at Point Pelee, but this time period is presently under-utilized by vis- iting bird watchers.

A wider effort to disperse an increased vis- itor audience to other regional attractions would also be desirable so that social and ecological impacts can be minimized (Butler and Fenton 1987). Birders in the fall can enjoy attractions such as Holiday Beach Provincial Park's fall raptor migration, swallow roosts of Pembroke, Ontario, and Point Pelee's own Monarch but- terfly (Danaus plexippus) concentrations and autumn foliage. These attractions could fur- ther enhance the existing economic contribu- tion of the Pelee birding resource. Our pro- jections suggest that such enhanced marketing efforts (Filion 1987), combined with improved availability of products and services, can bring

530 Wildl. Soc. Bull. 17(4) 1989

an additional $6.6 million to the local area directly from bird-watcher expenditures.

The rapid expansion of bird watching and other forms of wildlife tourism throughout much of the world is making a substantial con- tribution in economic terms that we are only now beginning to measure. Such tangible ben- efits associated with parks and wildlife areas are providing sound incentives for protection of landscapes and species, especially when threats are derived from alternative resource uses that are traditionally measured in the mar- ketplace.

We believe that Leamington is an example of an emerging role model that demonstrates the positive economic benefits attainable by effectively hosting an expanding population of bird watchers. Other communities and private establishments located in the proximity of parks, sanctuaries, and wildlife refuges may find these results useful in effectively promot- ing the resource and expanding upon the eco- nomic benefits of attracting this user group. By recognizing benefits of ecotourism, wildlife and resource conservation can gain political support (Vickerman 1988).

Tourism values associated with visiting bird watchers seeking to observe the resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) in Costa Rica are now responsible for local incentives to protect the vanishing cloud forests of Mon- teverde (Simons 1988, Sun 1988). A live, fully grown maned lion (Panthera leo) in Amboseli National Park is now worth > $500,000 to Ken- ya's tourism revenues (Durrell 1986). Thus, it is evident why there is a commitment from Costa Rica to protect quetzals and from Kenya to protect lions.

Benefits from bird watching are often un- der-rated as a significant contribution to the economy (Vickerman 1988). Such contribu- tions are substantial, and the rapidly-growing sport of bird watching promises to be an emerging force which society will no longer fail to recognize. Leamington now realizes this and so do other communities in the vicinity of

birding attractions such as Haines, Alaska; Rockport, Texas; Churchill, Manitoba; and many others. Insights provided during this in- vestigation have global relevance and offer counter arguments in defense of wildlife pro- tection.

SUMMARY

Point Pelee National Park, Ontario, Canada, one of the most desirable locations in the world for observing the spring migration of passer- ines, drew >57,000 gate visits by bird watchers in May 1987. We interviewed 603 randomly- selected bird watchers to collect data on ex- penditures for travel and equipment, and will- ingness to pay for their experience.

Pelee bird watchers were highly educated (62.4% possessed a bachelor's degree or higher), and 57.7% were employed in professional oc- cupations. Average household income was $57,175.

Total bird-watcher expenditures, arising from their trips to Point Pelee, amounted to $3.8 million in May 1987 or $5.4 million for the entire year. The average bird watcher at Point Pelee in May spends approximately $224/ trip or $66/day of birding at Point Pelee. Local expenditures reported by visiting bird watch- ers amounted to $2.1 million in May 1987 and are estimated to be $3.2 million for the entire year.

The net worth of bird watching at Point Pelee includes more than just dollars spent. Economic measures of satisfactions gained from the sport reflect its true economic value. We estimated that bird watching at Point Pelee National Park in 1987 represented $6.3 million in net economic value.

Acknowledgments.-The Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada, University of Alberta, and Canadian Wildlife Service provided financial support. We thank Point Pelee National Park personnel and the community of Leamington for their coopera- tion and provision of services. Thanks also to

ECONOMICS OF BIRD WATCHING * Hvenegaard et al. 531

P. J. Barss and B. G. Larson for assistance in data collection, and E. B. Butler for critical review of the manuscript.

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Received 31 May 1988. Accepted 11 October 1989.