Research Note: Travel Time as a Proxy for Travel Cost in a Heritage Tourist Destination

A novel approach to estimating travel costs for heritage tourism emerges from this study, demonstrating that 'travel time' derived from geographic information systems (GIS) is a more practical and accurate proxy than traditional 'travel distance' in the travel cost method (TCM). Applied to Hahoe Heritage Village in South Korea, the research analyzed data from 552 visitor surveys using zonal TCM, revealing that shortest transport time better reflects economic behavior. This finding advances methodological rigor in heritage tourism economics, offering a more nuanced understanding of consumer surplus and resource valuation.

Han, S.-H., Byun, W.-H., Lee, T. J., & Lee, C.-K. (2013). Research Note: Travel Time as a Proxy for Travel Cost in a Heritage Tourist Destination. Tourism Economics, 19(6), 1467–1474. https://doi.org/10.5367/te.2013.026