Willingness to pay for attributes of Templestay and implications on marginal utility of different meditation forms

Abstract

Templestays are a form of cultural tourism in which participants visit a Buddhist temple to experience their culture. Using a choice experiment, the marginal willingness to pay (MWTP) is estimated for various attributes of Templestay programs of location, accommodations, and type of meditation. Respondents are willing to pay a premium for private accommodations and to experience the natural mountain settings over an urban setting. The MWTP varies by type of meditation and by how often respondents have participated in a Templestay. For the most physically demanding form of meditation, 108 prostrations, there is weak evidence marginal utility decreases with increasing number of visits. Brewing tea and talking to a monk do not lead to a change in marginal utility. The most spiritually demanding meditation, Seon meditation, shows increasing marginal utility. Seon meditators could benefit from additional stays, as the benefits of this form of meditation can only be achieved through practice and learning from experienced meditators. It is expected that these results will provide information for the diversification of Templestay experience programs.