Abstract The contingent valuation method (CVM) has been widely used as a non-market valuation method, especially in the assessment of environment and resource economics valuation. This paper discuss further on the validity of CVM by taking Hangzhou West Lake scenic area as a case study. The results showed that the recreational value of West Lake scenic area was estimated to be 7.14×108 yuan in 2012. Three types of validity, namely, content validity, convergent validity and construct validity (theoretical validity) were examined in this research. Furthermore, according to the content validity test, the willingness to pay (WTP) was between 1 to 300 yuan. The mean of the WTP was 33.85 yuan and the over pledging bias didn't affect the result seriously. But the inevitable existence of the protesting answer and incomplete investigation might cause lower assessment. In convergent validity test, travel cost interval analysis (TCIA), a kind of travel cost method (TCM), was used to assessing the recreational value of Hangzhou West Lake scenic area and the result was 566.04×108 yuan. The result obtained by the CVM was significantly lower, so they didn't have good convergent validity. Finally, in terms of construct validity, correlation analysis indicated that there was a significant positive correlation between WTP for the entrance fee and visitors' substitute cognition.
2016, Vol. 31 
