Taking Stock of Progress with Travel Cost Recreation Demand Methods: Theory and Implementation

This article summarizes the conceptual development and empirical implementation of the travel cost recreation demand model by (1) describing its theoretical underpinnings, (2) outlining how theory must be adapted for the needs imposed by available data, (3) explaining issues to be considered in the future. Applications of the travel cost model have evolved from studies conducted at an aggregate level with origin zone data to an almost exclusive focus on micro data concentrating on individuals' recreational choices. These applications have broad implications. They are among the most detailed and extensive illustrations of models for corner solution and discrete choice problems in microeconomics. Equally important, they explore the theoretical and practical implications of the household production framework. Finally, they also provide examples of how a commodity's quality can be considered as an argument in describing individuals' consumption choices.