A preliminary economic valuation of Għadira Bay, Malta

Abstract

An economic valuation of a site such as Għadira Bay is an important study which allows stakeholders to determine whether certain monetary initiatives, such as investments or allocation of funds for a number of projects are worth implementing. At Għadira Bay one can find the largest sandy beach on the Maltese Islands (Deidun & Schembri, 2008), and as of yet, no attempt at valuating this particular bay has been made. Apart from calculating the economic value of Għadira Bay, this study also seeks to highlight several key factors which beach users deemed important when it came to choosing which beach to visit. A questionnaire survey designed to capture the latter mentioned characteristics of Għadira Bay was formulated, taking into consideration the Travel Cost, Contingent Choice and Contingent Valuation methods. Some critical findings of this study include that 66.7% of Għadira Bay beach users were foreign. Additionally, respondents selected the availability of shade as being one of the main influential factors when deciding which beach to visit. Also, 48.9% of the respondents stated that they would be willing to pay in order to use Għadira Bay, if this in turn meant that the beach would be better safeguarded, maintained or improved. Willingness to Pay (WTP) value of €2.92 per person was obtained when considering the whole sample, with the preferred method of payment (32.9%) being paying a fixed price per visit. The average Għadira Bay beach user spent €4.44 on food and drinks during their visit, and this value is not related to the weekly income of beach users. The average foreign beach user’s holiday to the Maltese Islands cost €749.80, and they stayed for approximately one week. Most importantly, the economic value of Għadira Bay was calculated to be €27,712,866.49 annually.