The recreational valuation of mangrove forests in Hara protected area using travel cost method (TCM)

Hara Protected Area in southern part of Hormozgan province located between Port Khamir and Qeshm island is one of the most spectacular regions of Iran that enjoys unique coastal seascape, Mangrove forests, and amazing biological diversity making it one of the most significant ecotourism areas in the country. In the present research, Clawson Method based on Travel Cost (TC) is used in order to determine the tourism value of Mangrove forests in the Hara Protected Area in 2006. The results show that correlation coefficient between distance and the number of tourists is 0.1726 which is not significant. Furthermore, the findings signify that the relationship between access cost, and distance is 99.8 percent which is totally a linear one. Also, correlation coefficient for the regression model shows that the relationship between access cost and tourist number is 0.79. In other words, an increase in access cost results in a decrease in tourist number with high linear correlation coefficient. Regarding the demand curve, and based on Clawson TCM, the economic value of Mangrove forests is estimated 19641993930 Rials per year and 2455249 Rials per acre annually. The valuation of the area under the study has provided decision-makers, manager, and authorities with justification to support the ecotourism quality of Hara Protected Area and plan for the ideal usage of the capabilities of the area.