Sightseeing and recreation have become prevalent in the Kenting coral reef area. However, coral reefs in Kenting are being severely bleached at an increasing rate under the influence of excessive human activities and climate change that have necessitated stronger conservation policies by the government. Based on a random utility model for coral ecology conservation, the preferences and willingness-to-pay (WTP) values of diving, fishing, and sightseeing visitors are analyzed. Empirical results show that: (1) increasing living coral coverage, improving water quality, restricting the number of daily visitors, increasing biodiversity, increasing the ratio of marine protected areas, and reducing the coral reef’s conservation fund will improve the overall utility of Kenting for visitors; (2) the WTP values significantly vary with respondents’ socioeconomic background and travel behaviors; (3) the results of a latent class model (LCM) also show that the two groups with different coral conservation preferences and WTP values have different socioeconomic backgrounds and travel behaviors.

The act of balancing two sustainability goals, the conservation of ecosystem services, and allowing access to reef recreational areas is a big challenge for the management of marine protected areas (MPAs). This study evaluates tourist preferences towards integrative aspects of an impact reduction program in a reef recreation area. We find that by integrating the marine police institution, providing educational training, setting up control of the number of divers, setting up control of the experience area, and taking boats to the snorkeling point are the key factors. We also identify the features that affect the heterogeneity of preferences with impact reduction management in the MPAs as follows: (1) monthly income; (2) type of tourist; and (3) joining conservation groups, and the integrated program generate the highest welfare value. These results can be applied to create a suitable management strategy for sustainable reef tourism that meets the needs of stakeholders.