Estimating the Willingness to Pay of Agricultural Tourists for Grape and Raisin Products in Iran's Takestan County

Challenges such as perishability and low prices of agricultural products, rising production costs, and fluctuations in markets decrease producers’ ability to set prices effectively. However, demand driven by agricultural tourists’ willingness to pay plays a crucial role in determining equilibrium prices. Agritourism, by enabling tourists to visit orchards and directly harvest products themselves (pick-your-own method), allows farmers to sell products directly and assign a higher value to them. The present study aims to estimate the willingness to pay of agricultural tourists for grape products (seedless white and seedless red varieties) and raisin products (sun-dried and sour raisin types), as well as to evaluate the added value generated by Agritourism in Takestan County, Iran. Data were collected through a combination of literature review and a field survey with 140 questionnaires completed by tourists attending the Takestan Grape Festival and transient tourists passing through the area. For data analysis, the Contingent Valuation Method with a Double-Bound Dichotomous Choice developed by Lopez-Feldman in Stata software. Results revealed mean willingness-to-pay values per kilogram of seedless white grape, seedless red grape, sun-dried raisin, and sour raisin as 461,125 IRR, 539,953 IRR, 1,117,309 IRR and 1,527,314 IRR, respectively. Variables such as age, income, and intention to stay overnight showed significant positive correlations with WTP for seedless white and seedless red grapes, additionally, these variables plus gender and distance from residence exhibited significant positive effects on WTP for sun-dried and sour raisin products. Sales through Agritourism could increase orchard income by 38%, 36%, 13% and 15% for seedless white grape, seedless red grape, sun-dried raisin, and sour raisin, respectively. These findings highlight the substantial economic benefits of Agritourism compared to traditional agricultural sales involving intermediaries and middlemen.