Evaluating the recreational value of Agodi Gardens and Park Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The study was carried out to evaluate the recreational value of Agodi garden and park so as to bring its importance to limelight and promote its relevance. Primary data needed for the study were collected through the administration of questionnaires to visitors in the park. Eighty questionnaires were administered to the respondents and seventy eight were used for analysis. Travel cost method and regression analysis were used to analyze the data. The result showed the individual consumer surplus to be ₦29.41k and the annual use value to be ₦955,857.50 (Nine hundred and fifty five thousand, eight hundred fifty seven naira fifty kobo); this shows that the Park is undervalued by the visitors. This could be possibly attributed to low patronage and also due to the fact that some of them have other recreational sites which they attach more value to. It also reveals that nature friendly environment is one of the major factors that influenced the respondents visit to the park. . Also the regression analysis showed that only the coefficients of travel cost and household size were statistically significant. Therefore prominent among the factors that influenced visitors’ visits to the Park are travel costs and household size.

Keywords: Evaluating, recreational value, green park, gardens