In this article, the application of the Individual Travel Cost Method (ITCM)
aims at providing a deeper insight into visitors? preferences and their
expenses on marketed and non-marketed services when travelling to the Tra Su
Melaleuca Forest Natural Park, an ecotourism destination in An Giang
Province of Viet Nam. The empirical findings from the survey of 237 visitors
in 2022 showed that the frequency of trips to this recreational site was 1.3
per year on average and relied strongly on the travel costs. Additionally,
the estimate of tourism revenues for 2022 of this site was 82,3 billion Viet
Nam Dong (VND; equivalent to 3,5 million USD). Meanwhile, its economic value
calculated by the ITCM application reaches 206,2 billion VND (or 8,8 million
USD). It is obvious that a greater economic value over the monetary amount
of revenue also raises several ideas of managerial implications dedicated to
the recreational site. It includes building a marketing team for developing
recreational services and digital marketing performance, expanding tour
services like transportation, lodging, local guides. Finally, enabling local
people to engage in dialogues, decision-making, and interest shares is also
necessary for the sustainable development of ecotourism.