Capturing the benefits of preserving cultural heritage

There is an increasing body of contingent valuation (CV) studies applied to cultural heritage sites. These CV studies assess the social benefits of cultural resources, but few provide advice on the policy use of the results and the ways these benefits could be captured and used to improve the condition of the sites. This study attempts to do exactly this by conducting a CV survey of a preservation program for a World Heritage site, and using the estimated benefits for visitors to assess optimal entrance fees that maximize revenues for the site. We also perform a cost-benefit analysis of the preservation project, and show how the outcome can be used to justify investments in cultural heritage preservation. (C) 2008 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.