WILLINGNESS TO PAY AN ENTRANCE FEE FOR CHAO SAM PHRAYA NATIONAL MUSEUM

Abstract

The objective of this research is to assess the willingness to pay an entrance fee for Chao Sam Phraya National Museum of Thai tourists. The sample size is 514 Thai tourists (Age is more than or equal to 18 years old). Close-ended CVM questionnaire are used to collect the data and the Tobit model is used to analyze their willingness to pay with maximum likelihood estimation as well as other influencing factors from the sample. By using accidental random sampling, the results of the study revealed that: 1) factors influencing their willingness to pay were age, occupation, income, distance between museum and tourists’ residence, and frequency of visitation. 2) Thai tourists who visited Chao Sam Phraya National Museum have willingness to pay 48.28 Baht/ person. 3) The average level of satisfaction is 4.53 out of 5, which is in the “very satisfaction” level. Tourists mention that museum facilities should be improved to impress tourists. The information from this study can be used assess the value of developing the Chao Sam Phraya National Museum by the government or related businesses.