Valuation of Tourists' Willingness to Pay for Ecological Conservation towards a Sustainable Financial Mechanism for National Parks: An Empirical Case of Cuc Phuong National Park, Red River Delta, Vietnam

Abstract National parks play an important role in preserving the ecological values of nature, while also bringing economic benefits to the community. However, current national parks in developing countries are facing the challenge of lacking financial resources for conservation goals. This study estimates tourists' willingness to pay for ecological conservation in Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam as well as factors affecting willingness to pay. Using a binary random assessment model and a research sample of 650 randomly selected tourists in Cuc Phuong, the study shows that tourists' willingness to pay for conservation is about 47,070 VND in the parametric model and 42,123 VND in the non-parametric model. Factors that influence the probability of accepting payment include income, education level, conservation attitude, awareness of ecological values and travel distance. From there, the study discusses and proposes implications that contribute to mobilizing finance for conservation from the community and financial mechanisms for conservation in national parks in Vietnam and developing countries in Asia.