Tangible Cultural Valuation: Data-driven Policy Implications for Trang An World Heritage Site

Valuing cultural heritage is essential for capturing non-market benefits and informing evidence-based conservation policies. This study combines the Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) and the fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to estimate and transfer the economic value of tangible heritage within Vietnam’s Trang An Scenic Landscape Complex. The proposed approach first applies CVM to elicit visitors’ willingness to pay (WTP) for conserving the historically significant Dinh-Le Temples. Subsequently, FAHP is employed to transfer and scale these site-specific values to other cultural monuments across Trang An. On a Purchasing-Power-Parity (PPP)-adjusted basis, domestic tourists report an average WTP of VND 730,000 per visit, while international visitors indicate an average WTP of USD 26.6. Factors such as income, prior knowledge about the site, frequency of visits, and participation in heritage conservation significantly influence visitors’ WTP. Using FAHP-based value transfer, the total annual value of the complex’s cultural monuments is estimated to exceed VND 1,940 billion (approximately USD 278 million). Based on these findings, the study proposes several policy implications aimed at developing a heritage industry that integrates conservation, creativity, and controlled commercialization, thus positioning Trang An’s cultural assets as drivers of sustainable economic development.