PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Scarpa, Riccardo
AU  - Thiene, Mara
TI  - Destination Choice Models for Rock Climbing in the Northeastern Alps: A Latent-Class Approach Based on Intensity of Preferences
AID  - 10.3368/le.81.3.426
DP  - 2005 Aug 01
TA  - Land Economics
PG  - 426--444
VI  - 81
IP  - 3
4099  - http://le.uwpress.org/content/81/3/426.short
4100  - http://le.uwpress.org/content/81/3/426.full
SO  - Land Econ2005 Aug 01; 81
AB  - Rock climbers are likely to exhibit preference heterogeneity dictating the way with which such sport is practiced. This has a reflection on the population’s structure of recreational values of rock-climbing destinations, their attributes, and to land management policies. We test this hypothesis on a panel of destination choices by a sample of members of the Italian Alpine Club. Using a latent-class, random utility approach we find evidence in support of the hypothesis that there are at least four classes in the sample, thereby revealing a considerable richness in the structure of preference, which would otherwise be unobservable with more conventional approaches. (JEL Q26, C25)