Regional Studies in Marine Science 7 (2016) 142–149 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Regional Studies in Marine Science journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/rsma Estimation of local tourists Willingness To Pay Mohamed Faizan a , A. Sasekumar a,∗ , S. Chenayah b a Institute of Biological Science, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, 50603 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia b Department of Economics, Faculty of Economics and Administration, University of Malaya, 50603, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia highlights • Cape Rachado FPA lacks basic elements of a properly managed coral reef area. • Cape Rachado reef is in poor condition with live coral in decline. • Majority of local tourists are WTP a conservation fee to manage Cape Rachado. • Median WTP for a conservation fee was estimated at MYR 3.00. • MYR 1.03 million per annum can be generated by levying an entrance fee of MYR 3.00. article info Article history: Received 2 January 2016 Received in revised form 1 June 2016 Accepted 16 June 2016 Available online 23 June 2016 Keywords: Corals reefs Fisheries prohibited areas Contingent valuation management abstract Coral reef around Cape Rachado, Malacca was among the first to be declared as a Fisheries Prohibited Area (FPA) in Malaysia. Despite this declaration, there are no measures on the ground to effectively enforce this regulation, opening up the area for illegal fishing and harvesting of corals, seaweeds and sea-cucumbers. In addition, the reef is under constant stress from increased sediment run-off, discharge of sewage/wastewater and other pollutants from the rapidly developing coastline of Port Dickson. Coral reef studies from 1976 to 2014 in the area indicate that the live coral coverage has declined from 59.6% to 11.9%. In this study, Contingent Valuation Method (CVM) was adopted to elicit the willingness to pay (WTP) by local tourists for an improved coral reef management scenario for this area, which comprises of enforcement of fisheries prohibition regulation, increasing awareness on FPA and the reef, implementation of regular coral reef monitoring, and exploration of ways to improve the sea water quality at this area. The contingent valuation survey demonstrated that the local visitors were supportive of a conservation fee, if the money was exclusively used to fund this coral reef management scenario. The estimate of median WTP for conservation fee was MYR 3.00. If a fee of MYR 3.00 can be fully captured from the population of local visitors to the beaches along Port Dickson and Cape Rachado, it can conservatively generate as much as MYR 1.03 million per annum. © 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Following a decline in fish catch in the early 1980s along with an increased understanding of the vital role coral reefs played as habitat and breeding grounds for fishes, the government of Malaysia initiated steps to protect, conserve, and manage the fragile coral reef resources of the country (Department of Marine Park Malaysia, 2012). A first major step taken under this initiative was the enactment of the Fisheries (Prohibited Areas) Regulation in 1983, and the designation of Pulau Redang, located in the state of ∗ Corresponding author. E-mail address: sasekumarster@gmail.com (A. Sasekumar). Terrengganu, as a Fisheries Prohibited Area (FPA) in the same year. Since then, the Fisheries (Prohibited Areas) Regulation has been amended in 1988 and 1994. Presently six areas are listed under the regulation as FPAs, two in Sarawak (Pulau Talang-Talang Besar, and Pulau Talang-Talang Kecil) and four in Malacca (Cape Rachado, Pulau Besar, Tanjung Tuan, Tanjung Tuan 1, and Tanjung Tuan 2). Nevertheless, FPAs face many challenges: lack of trained per- sonnel, logistical challenges, financial constraints, and difficulties in enforcement of regulations and lack of regular monitoring of coral reef health are impediments to proper management (Burke et al., 2002, p. 40). In addition, ambiguous national and local legisla- tive measures, and separation of responsibility for managing FPAs and their associated coastal areas between federal and state gov- ernments, are identified as key constraints for successful marine resource management in Malaysia (Islam et al., 2013, p. 133). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rsma.2016.06.005 2352-4855/© 2016 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.