Did You See the Elk? Results from On-Site Visitor Surveys at the Missouri Department of Conservation's Elk Tour Loops

Poster presented at the 2017 Missouri Natural Resource Conference at the Lake of the Ozarks, featuring results from the visitor survey at MDC's elk tour loops.Over 11,000 visitors toured each of the areas in 2016, with PR visitors coming farther distances than CR’s. More PR visitors came specifically to see elk (and saw them) than did CR’s but both groups of visitors were overwhelmingly satisfied with their visits. Overall the two tour loops yielded a nearly $1.3 million dollar economic impact on the local area (counting only spending by non-local visitors), supporting about 13 full-time jobs. This estimate includes both the direct, indirect and induced impacts associated with visitor spending. The economic value of the elk viewing experience to visitors (the consumer surplus), as measured by willingness-to-pay analyses, was over $14 at each area.